Role Reversal
by Shinigamis Wrath
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple acting exercise. Now what have Kyoko and Ren gotten themselves into? (Rated M for possible situations down the road)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you guys will enjoy this newest plot bunny! Now, those of you reading _Affliction_ (all 2 of you), I will keep working on that story. But this one just grabbed my interest and hasn't let go. I have a lot of material hand written, so I will be getting it typed up on here. And because I'm so excited to get this story started, this first chapter hasn't even made it to my beta, Nimblnymph. So it may be chock full of grammatical errors, but I need to just get this story going! Too excited!**

 **Please let me know what y'all think! Thanks! ~SW**

"You're a meanie, Takkachi!" The girl on the screen wailed before the image dissolved into black and the message "GAME OVER" appeared with the funeral dirge playing in the background.

"What did I do this time?!" Lory Takarada, President of LME Agency, threw the controller on the couch beside him and ran a hand through his long, dark hair in exasperation. "Honestly! All I did was ask for a kiss and she thinks I'm making fun of her?!" Agitated, he got up and paced the confines of his office. His ever-present, ever-silent assistant, Sebastian, watched with a bland look on his face.

"I bought her presents, I rescued her from the stalker in Class 2-D, I even babysat her little sister, and she think's _I'M_ mean?!" Lory muttered to himself "I just don't get these dating sim games at all!" He paused in his pacing to glance up at the clock on the wall. "Hmm...3:45 pm. Those two should be free right now, if memory serves. Sebastian!" Lory turned to the stoic assistant who stood by the door. "Please fetch Ren and Kyoko-chan to my office."

Lory turned away to walk across the room to the wall where a framed picture of his dear granddaughter, Maria, perched on the wall. He looked over his shoulder to make sure that Sebastian had left before turning back to Maria's portrait. A devious glint shone in his dark eyes as he gently grasped the frame and lifted, revealing a small safe set into the wall. After quickly spinning the combination with the dial, he opened the safe door to reveal a thick manilla envelope. He reached in and reverently took the envelope out. It was still sealed and bore the postage marks and address from the guy who'd sent it to him. Lory had bought these on a whim one night when he was surfing the internet and as a collector of rare and eccentric items, this matched pair of scripts had called to him.

He closed up the safe and replaced Maria's picture before carrying the packet to his desk. He folded his lanky frame into his chair and continued to stare at the packet. Slowly, he turned it over in his hands and broke the adhesive seal and bent the metal tabs forward to undo the flap of the envelope. He grinned to himself, the story behind these scripts was unique. Supposedly, they forced the pair reading them to switch roles in the dialogue. Lory gathered that they were cleverly written so that the actors unknowingly found themselves at opposite positions in the argument from where they first started reading. He had seen the description and they were cheap enough at the Buy-It-Now price that he figured they would make a good acting experience. And he knew the _perfect_ pair to try them out for the first time. His LoveMe Girl #1 and Japan's #1 Top Male Actor. If they could learn something from this exercise, he could implement it throughout his Acting division. Lory smiled and felt the excitement bubble up within him, things have been a mite too quiet since those two had finished the Tragic Marker project.

He placed the opened packet on his desk and leaned back into his chair while idly playing with his mustache. He was proud at how far Kyoko had come from when she hand first come to LME. She had openly admitted her feelings for Ren to Lory right here in his office. He had been ecstatic and had expected things to progress from there-but no. His #1 Love Me Girl and hopeless Top Actor still stubbornly clung to their Senpai / Kouhai relationship. Honestly, it was enough to drive a man to drink (or in his case, play countless otome games). Lory frowned into space at the thought that his favorite two actors might never get together? NO! He thumped his fist into his open palm with a determined grunt; not if he could help it! Those two kids just needed a slight push-okay shove-in the right direction and hopefully nature would take over. He glanced at the packet lying innocuously on his desk and smiled wolfishly. Yep, this pair of scripts might be just the thing.

There was the briefest of knocks on the door before it opened, allowing Sebastian in. He stood off to the side to allow a pair of bewildered actors into Lory's office. "Tsuruga Ren and Mogami Kyoko for you, Sir." Sebastian bowed slightly with his left hand folded over his chest while his right hand held the door open.

"Ah! Excellent! Come in, you two!" Lory excitedly leapt up from his chair and gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk, "Have a seat, please."

Ren looked at Kyoko questioningly and she helplessly shrugged back and began to walk towards the desk. As they walked, Ren noticed that the office had not been decorated with any sort of theme. The Boss himself was even dressed in a mundane button down shirt and dress slacks. There was a playful glint to the older man's eyes that told Ren that something was afoot. Wordlessly, the tall actor made sure Kyoko was seated before he settled into his own chair.

"You wanted to see us, Sir?" Ren remarked dryly. Might as well get this over with.

Kyoko looked questioningly over at Ren when she heard his curt tone.

"Now, now, no need to be hasty." Lory tsked, "What with your most recent project completed, things are rather quiet around here. How have you guys been since then?" He asked playfully while looking from Kyoko to Ren. He was pleased to see Kyoko blush a pretty shade of red as she looked down and fiddled with her hands. Ren, however, wasn't buying Lory's congenial tone if his narrowed eyes were any indication.

Lory watched as Kyoko lifted her gaze to meet his, "Things are going well, President Takarada." He waited for her to expand on that, but the chestnut haired girl fell quiet again.

Awkwardly, Lory cleared his throat, "Ah, well, that's good then!" He looked down at the open packet on his desk. "Right. Might as well get down to business." He reached in a drew out the two scripts and handed each to the two actors in front of him.

Ren looked down at the plainly typed, stapled script. "Role Reversal?" He read aloud and looked back up at Lory.

"Yes! An acting exercise. I got a great deal for them online and if they can benefit my top two actors-" Lory didn't miss Kyoko's face blaze crimson at that comment, but he continued, "-then I shall implement this exercise into all of my acting classes. But for now, I just wanted to run through this here in my office to see if they're any good."

Ren's eyes narrowed, "And you chose us, why?"

Lory feigned hurt, "Why, because you two are my go-to couple!"

Ren arched an eyebrow and his lips thinned in displeasure, but he let out a sigh of resignation. "Fine, let's get this over with. Are you okay with this, Mogami-san?

Lory watched as Kyoko blinked herself out of whatever thoughts she was lost in and looked quickly between the two men. "Yes!" She picked up the script and the two actors opened their copies and began to read. 

An hour later, Lory was struggling to hold the smirk off of his face as he watched Ren's frustration and irritation grow. The younger man was uncharacteristically letting his emotions show rather than hide behind the 'Tsuruga Mask'. He and Kyoko had been going over and over the "script" and arguing over how it should be read. Ren was raking his hands through his hair as he paced in front of Lory's desk. Kyoko had also risen to her feet, but she stood off to the corner of the President's desk-and out of Ren's path. She too, bore signs of frustration, but also hints of nervousness and anger. Lory could read her face like a book. Even if this script never made its way to the acting school, Lory would count the purchase as justifiable-if only for entertainment value at this moment.

The script itself wasn't even well written. It was merely a circular argument nestled into a two person dialogue between a man and a woman. One of those "nothing" fights that couples had all the time. The script was as far from an intellectual screenplay as it could get. Heck, made-for-cable movies or even- _gasp!-_ soft core porn had better written dialogue. And because of this, the #1 Male Actor was getting quite riled up. And Lory was loving every minute of it!

"I'm sorry, Tsuruga-san. I'll get it next time." Kyoko's eyes were narrowed as she watched Ren pace like a caged tiger.

"We've been over this script for an hour now, Boss." Ren sneered the title in his frustration and anger, "Surely you have what you need?" He pinned a lethal stare at the older man.

Lory "hmmmed" and stroked his mustache idly as he thought about Ren's question. "I don't think so, maybe once more-with feeling?" Ignoring Ren's low growl of impatience, Lory continued, "Why don't you give Kyoko some feedback on her role; so that you both can learn from this experience?" Inwardly, Lory was laughing at Ren's frustration. Lory _never_ had the opportunity to torture the younger man like this so he wasn't going to cut it short. Plus, this hoax script had also allowed Ren to spend time in Kyoko's company. It was refreshing to see the boy show more of his true emotions, his true self-Kuon. Of course, Lory mused, with only the four of them in the room, Ren felt comfortable with all the occupants in order to display the level of anger and frustration he was.

Ren, meanwhile, ground his teeth and turned to Kyoko. "In the interest of getting this exercise completed as quickly as we can, let's do better on this next run-through."

Kyoko nodded. "Yes, of course. What can I do to improve?" She was also frustrated, and even though she loved every opportunity to expand her acting abilities; she had specifically taken this evening off to study for her upcoming finals. She felt the bite of impatience and agitation eat away at her mood and Ren's highly uncharacteristic show of anger and snark towards the president wasn't helping matters. She almost saw glimpses of the willful character of Cain nii-san emerge. She would have been quite content to watch, if Tsuruga-san hadn't been determined to continually criticize her read-through. He'd been hyper-critical on her tone, cadence, heck, even how she was standing! Her patience had been wearing thing for a while now.

"This time, if you could put a little more emotion into your voice, Mogami-san. Your portrayal of Asami is still a bit flat and forced." Ren explained.

Kyoko, in a rare show of anger herself, glared at her senpai. "You said I was putting too much emotion into it last time. Now it's not enough?" She crossed her arms and met Ren's gaze.

When he gave her his 'American' shrug as she called it, she felt the blood boil-and her temper snap at his words: "Yes, it was too flat. Please adjust and do better next time so we can get out of here."

Kyoko had had enough. They had read through this stupid script three times now. "If you think me that incompetent, maybe you should read Asami's part!"

Ren's eyes widened and he quirked an eyebrow, "Hmm...perhaps I will. We'll switch spots!" He folded his own arms and glared determinedly back at Kyoko.

"Fine!" Kyoko nodded sharply and began the scene again, only this time by reading Ryu's male dialogue.

Lory was desperately wishing for popcorn as he watched the drama unfold. After watching the two read through the script with the roles reversed, he decided to show mercy. He held up a hand, calling a halt to the two actors before they could get into another argument. "That's enough, you two. It's getting late. Just put those on my desk here." He stood and looked at the two exasperated actors, who were staring incredulously at him. "What?" Lory asked, flicking his gaze from Kyoko to Ren.

"That's it?" Kyoko asked haltingly, "We're done?"

Ren wasn't quite as level as Kyoko, "What the hell, Boss? You drag us in here, have us waste the evening reading through the worst script I have _ever_ laid eyes on and just like that-you've had enough? Time to go home?"

Lory just grinned. How he loved pushing Ren's buttons. "Yep! You kids have a nice night!"

"I don't believe this!" Ren threw his script on Lory's desk and turned to Kyoko, "I apologize for my behavior, Mogami-san. My patience with this whole debacle has completely escaped me." He told her in as gentle of a tone as he could muster, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Kyoko blinked at the rapid attitude change and it helped settle her frustration a little as well, "Oh, yes! I'll be around the agency." She turned to Lory, "Here." She placed the script on his desk, then turned back to the tall actor, "Tsuruga-san, thank you for helping me with this acting exercise. I'm sorry your valuable time was wasted on a lowly kouhai such as myself." She bowed deeply from her waist.

Lory watched as all traced of anger quickly left the younger man. In fact, he'd say that Ren looked abashed as he looked down at the short haired girl. Ren reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "You've nothing to apologize for, Mogami-san. You didn't waste my time, and I'm always happy to work with you. I merely object to the banality of this sad excuse of a script." He shot a dirty look in Lory's direction.

"Mm...I don't think it was a waste. I learned about levels of emotion in my inflection." Kyoko mused as she looked off into space.

The girl may have missed Ren's look, but Lory caught the warm gaze that the younger man bestowed on her. Ren's smile was gentle and compassionate, "Well then, my time wasn't wasted at all."

Kyoko looked up at that and blanched when faced with such a heavenly smile. "Eh? Th-that's good then." She sputtered out.

"Shall we get going? I can give you a ride home." Ren offered as they turned towards the door.

Lory smiled as he heard the now familiar, "I-can't-accept-a-ride-and-end-up-being-a-burden" speech from Kyoko.

As the pair exited Lory's office in full debate over Kyoko accepting said ride, the door clicked softly behind them, leaving Lory in silence. He looked down at this desk, "They didn't even say goodbye!" He pouted as he put the scripts back in the envelope.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's chapter 2! Didn't want to keep you guys waiting on what was going to happen next! Oh, this is just the tip of the iceberg for the awkward situations I've envisioned for these two! I hope you guys keep reading!**

 **As always, please let me know what y'all think! ~SW**

The second he opened his eyes, Ren knew something was drastically wrong. He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, thinking furiously. What had happened last night? He remembered dropping Kyoko off at Daruma-ya, getting to his apartment, having a nightcap, then heading to bed. In his bed. Which did _not_ feel like it was underneath him any longer. It felt like he was lying on a futon spread across the floor. His eyes slid from the ceiling to glance at the walls, unadorned except for a poster of himself…and Fuwa? His eyes narrowed in annoyance, was he in a fangirl's room? Nothing made sense! He growled in frustration only to cut the sound off short. What the hell was wrong with his voice?! Had he caught another cold? Funny, he didn't feel sick, he just felt _different_.

Tentatively, he sat up and froze as fringes of chestnut colored hair fell into his eyes. His heart stopped in his chest. He knew that shade of brown…it belonged on the head of…Kyoko…his thoughts stuttered to a stop as well. Slowly, he looked down at his hands that lay atop the futon blanket in his lap. They looked small, delicate and…feminine? His eyes widened as he followed the line of his arm up to his chest. A chest that was clothed in a spaghetti strap sleep camisole, complementing his admittedly small, but perky décolletage. A sense of detachment claimed him as he stared down at his newfound cleavage. Until he realized whose body he must be in and he felt his cheeks burn with a violent blush and he looked away.

How…why…how…in the _hell_ did he get into Kyoko's body? Was this some sort of dream? He pinched his left forearm. "Ow!" Startled, he clapped both hands over his mouth and froze again with wide eyes. He knew that voice. His eyes glanced over to the door, and after dropping his hands he scrambled to his feet and made for the portal. Cautiously opening it, he stuck his head out and looked both ways. There had to be a bathroom up here somewhere…ah! There! On unsteady legs he dashed into the bathroom and closed and locked the door.

He approached the sink and mirror above it with trepidation. The sight that greeted him both confirmed and enhanced his fears. Short chestnut hair framed golden amber eyes. Yup. Tsuruga Ren was in the body of Mogami Kyoko. His now amber eyes widened with the realization that if he was in Kyoko (he tried not to think dirty at that thought) then that meant that Kyoko was…

* * *

WHAT SEVENTH CIRCLE OF HELL DID THIS!? Kyoko looked at the pale and shocked face of Tsuruga Ren as the water dripped down off of his…no her…chin. Thinking she was dreaming, she had splashed water on her…his...face and the dream didn't change. No, this was a nightmare! She had gone to bed the night before safe and sound in her futon at Daruma-ya and woke up in the soft bed of the Emperor of the Night himself. She had been confused until she had tried calling for him. The deep timbre coming out of her mouth had startled her so much she fell out the bed. She attempted to go stumbling into the ensuite bathroom to peer into the mirror. However, she hadn't been expecting the long stride, so like a newborn colt, she had tripped over her own legs and sprawled across the floor. As she picked herself up, only then had she noticed that she was only wearing a pair of boxers. This caused her to blush violently as found her way to the sink, and the mirror. When the vision of the tall, dark haired, dark eyed actor stared back at her that was when she had splashed water on herself to wake up. She found herself staring at the planes of his chest, the ripple of muscle underneath skin, and the hypnotic motion of the water trailing down her…his…neck. When she realized that she was memorizing his dimensions in even finer detail for her voodoo dolls, she shook her head and forced her thoughts elsewhere. The motion caused an intense burning in her right eye. There was something in there…was it an eyelash? Desperately, she rubbed her eyelid with her hand and blinked furiously. She felt something give and looked down into the sink to see a brown contact. She had had to wear gray contacts to match Cain nii-san's when she was Setsu. If that was a brown contact, what color were Ren's eyes? She looked up and gasped. One brown eye and one brilliant green met her surprised stare. Tsuruga-san had beautiful green eyes!

Suddenly she heard the chiming of his phone. Oh no! She hoped it wasn't Yashiro or President Takarada. She scuttled out of the ensuite and back into the bedroom. There on the nightstand was Tsuruga-san's phone. It blinked and lit up as it rang. She grabbed it and looked down, "Kyoko-chan." She read aloud, embarrassed that she was recorded with her first name in his phone. "Oh! But that means…" She tapped the answer button and lifted the phone to her ear, "Tsuruga-san?" She asked tremulously.

She could hear him-her-breathe a sigh of relief, "Mogami-san. How are you?"

It was incredibly odd to hear the cadence of his voice with her tone. She gulped audibly and answered, "I'm okay, Tsuruga-san. But what happened?"

"I don't know, but I mean to find out." He replied.

"That's good." She answered lamely as she walked back into the bathroom and stared down at the brown contact that was still in the sink. She looked back up at her mismatched gaze in the mirror. She had known that Tsuruga-san wasn't a full blooded Japanese male, but the emerald gaze staring back at her confirmed it. Silently, she put the phone on speaker and searched in his cabinets until she found solution. It wasn't her secret to tell, so she wet the contact and put it back into her-his-eye.

"Are you listening, Mogami-san?" Came her impatient voice through the phone.

"Yes, Tsuruga-san. What did you want?" She blinked as the lens settled onto her eye.

"I said I'm grabbing a taxi and will be over. We need to figure out a plan. Oh shit, do you have Yashiro's phone number on your phone?"

Kyoko was momentarily confused, "Yes, it should be in there. Why?"

"I'll need to call him to say I'm sick and to cancel my meetings today." He paused, "Except, I don't sound like myself right now. I sound like you. Mogami-san, you'll have to call him from my phone and tell him. Do you think you can do that?"

"Um…uh…yeah, I can." Kyoko agreed hesitantly.

"I'll be on my way over there shortly. You can do this, I know it."

"Okay." Kyoko responded a little more confidently. She hung up the phone and looked down at her boxer-clad frame. "Well, I can't do anything dressed like this." She muttered to herself as she walked into the closet and looked at her choices. She picked a faded pair of jeans that were butter soft and a charcoal gray long sleeved Henley shirt. She kept her feet bare, brushed her teeth and finger combed her hair. She secretly relished the feeling of the soft silky strands through her fingers. She padded from the bedroom into the kitchen to cook herself something to eat and decided to make extra so that Tsuruga-san would have something to eat as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ren was having an ethical dilemma. He needed to get dressed in order to get over to his place and help Kyoko. However, he would have to strip naked (and see said _female_ body) in order to put on street clothes. He had left the bathroom and returned to Kyoko's room and was now going through her closet. He was alternating between feeling like the world's biggest pervert, and being concerned that his girl seemed to have so little in the way of personal effects. The perverted feeling was winning out, because while he may be in Kyoko's body and for all appearances looked like a girl, he was still very much a guy in spirit!

Luckily enough he had found a pair of jeans and a long sleeved black t-shirt. He turned hesitantly towards her dresser and the top shelf that awaited him. He knew all about taking bras off, but this would be the first time he'd ever put one _on._ He opened the drawer and was assaulted by color and texture. Why did she have Setsu's unmentionables in here?! Don't tell him that she actually _liked_ those styles? He studiously avoided the hot pink and black numbers and frantically pawed through the rest to find a basic white set. Quickly he grabbed them and slammed the drawer shut, panting as though he'd just run a race.

He looked down at the items in his hands. He'd change quickly, like ripping off a Band-Aid. He placed the bra and panties on top of the dresser and squeezed his eyes shut. Ren hastily shucked the sleeping pants and kicked them off as he fumbled blindly for the panties. Eyes still shut, he pulled them on and then whipped the cami off and reached for the bra and tried to put that on with his eyes closed, but for the life of him, he couldn't do it. He had to open his eyes to see what he was doing. "Forgive me, Kyoko." He muttered to himself and slowly opened his eyes.

He stood in front of her mirror in panties and had both arms through the straps of the bra, but the closure in the back refused to cooperate with him. He wrestled around with his arms behind him, "How the hell do women _do_ this?" He growled. He made sure to focus on the garment and not the bare breasts that played peek-a-boo behind it as he struggled. Huffing out a breath, he dropped his arms and glared at the offending article of clothing. Slowly, he shrugged out of it, held it in his hands and studied it for a minute. Then wrapped it around his chest with the rear clasp to the front. There, he hooked the clasp then spun the garment around until his-her?-breasts were covered by the cups and threaded his arms through the straps of the bra. Ren admired his handiwork in the mirror, feeling stupidly proud for vanquishing a tricky situation. He hadn't even looked at Kyoko's boobs…much. Shaking off the rest of his pervy thoughts, he finished dressing and reached for her phone to call for a cab.

* * *

Kyoko had lost herself in the comforting and familiar territory of meal prep when the security buzzer sounded out in the entryway of the apartment. She wandered over and hit the 'Talk' button, "Yes?"

The front desk attendant stuttered hesitantly, "Pardon, Tsuruga-san, but Mogami Kyoko is here to see you. Should I send her up?"

Kyoko smiled to herself at the switch in their positions, "Yes, please do." She released the button, turned and unlocked the door and returned to the kitchen to finish breakfast.

A few minutes later, she heard the door open and a petite woman walked into the kitchen. She carried herself regally, yet was dressed rather casually in the one pair of jeans that Kyoko owned and a long sleeved black t-shirt.

"Hello, Tsuruga-san." Kyoko greeted her senpai.

Ren had stopped stock still as he looked at himself with the frilly apron that Kyoko kept at his house for whenever she cooked. This situation was beyond bizarre. Even though she looked-and sounded- like him, the expression on her face was _all_ Kyoko. Ren sighed and shook his head, "This will never work." He muttered under his breath.

Kyoko had heard him and a determined glint shone in her eyes. She grinned mischievously, "Of course it will! We pulled off the scandalous Heel siblings, didn't we? We can play each other! And I'll show you!" She turned and swiftly walked back to the bedroom, instinctively walking like Ren would. Watching her, he quirked an eyebrow, curious as to what she was up to.

Kyoko returned with an appropriately serious 'Ren' expression on her-his?-face. She calmly unlocked his phone and tapped the screen a couple times and held the phone up.

Ren could hear Yashiro's voice, though not what he said. So he paid attention to what Kyoko was saying.

"Good morning, Yashiro...yes, I understand it's early. That's why I'm calling."

Ren was impressed that she had made her voice even more gravelly and lower. "I need you to reschedule my activities for the day. I've unexpectedly caught a cold." She coughed once for good measure, "No, I don't know how it happened. Yes, it's probably from not eating."

Ren smiled at that and watched as Kyoko listened to Yashiro talking, "Yes, Mogami-san will surely be mad. I can almost picture her now." She threw a smile in Ren's direction, "Yes, I'll be sure to call her. Thanks. Yes, I will." Kyoko ended the call and turned to look at Ren. "That will take care of you for the day, but what about me?"

Before Ren could answer, a chime sounded from his pocket. He fished out Kyoko's cell and looked at the display, "I believe that situation will remedy itself." He answered before opening the phone and slipped into his 'Kyoko' role. "Good morning, Yashiro-san!"

Kyoko smiled in amusement as she saw Ren act as her. This was the most chipper she'd ever seen him act.

"What? Tsuruga-san's sick? What happened? Did he forget to eat again?" He let a little irritation leak into Kyoko's voice. Yashiro must have been talking because Ren 'm-hmmed' a couple times and then his face brightened and he copied Kyoko's determined look. He locked eyes with Kyoko and smiled fiercely, "Just leave it to me, Yashiro-san. I'll make sure that Tsuruga-san eats properly and gets better. I'll head over there right now." He thanked Yashiro and closed the phone.

Kyoko was on the verge of laughter at Ren's portrayal of her. The way he was acting, a person would think she was some sort of magical girl super hero. She shook her head and smiled, "Smooth, Tsuruga-san." She walked back to the kitchen to grab their breakfast.

Ren took his placed at the dining room table and he was relieved to see that when she returned, she had ditched the frilly apron in the kitchen.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm sorry! I meant to get this out late last week! But life has been busy as all hell in Shinigami's world! Had to get the hubby's Harley to the shop to get some work done, and then it's mowing lawn at our Homestead and at our friend's house that moved away. They're selling the house, but we and a couple of friends have been taking care of the lawn care/grounds maintenance. So now it's late on a Monday night and I have to get up early for work. I tried to proof this as best as I could, but if there are a few typos...I blame fatigue! I just didn't want to leave y'all hanging! I love this story and I'm really having some fun with it.**

 **Please let me know what y'all think! I appreciate the reviews, feedback, snide remarks. I take them all! ~SW**

* * *

They ate in a companionable silence, however, they kept looking at the other, then quickly back down at their food. Finally after several minutes of this, Ren couldn't take it anymore. He set his fork down and pinned Kyoko with a _look_. "Okay. We both have questions and we need to figure out how this happened. We've no time for secrets, or to be embarrassed about being in the other person's body. We need to come clean and just get whatever we need off of our chests. So, what do you want to know?"

Kyoko still found it odd to see herself- hear herself - look and sound so composed, so _adult_ ; but Tsuruga-san was correct. She looked down at her plate for a second, then looked back up and met Ren's gaze, "Why do you hide your beautiful green eyes?"

Ren's blood ran cold, the sounds around him seemed muffled, he could feel his pulse in his throat and when he swallowed, he choked on the brackish taint of fear. Of _course_ by switching bodies, Kyoko would become privvy to the _one_ thing he'd kept hidden from her. He smiled humorlessly to himself as his earlier words of being honest and not embarrassed came back to bite him in the ass. He pushed his long-forgotten plate aside and organized his thoughts.

"I know I've told you that Tsuruga Ren is a stage name, yeah? Well, I'm not entirely Japanese," He paused, looking at his own wide-eyed face. This was too surreal, but as his Dad would say, 'In for a penny, in for a pound.' "My real name is Hizuri Kuon. Or as you called me once upon a time, Corn."

He watched as all color lost her-his?-face. She looked ready to bolt, so he hastened to add, "Before you decide that you hate me forever, _please_ hear me out. I know I don't deserve that because of all the lies I've told you, but will you give me a chance to explain?" He had held a hand out towards her in entreaty and he watched as she looked from his-her?- hand to his face. Ren saw her clench her jaw and narrow her eyes. He could also see the hurt swimming in her gaze, thought she put up a brave front. She self-consciously folded her arms in front of her and gave him a terse nod.

Ren let out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. "Thank you. Now where do I begin? Well you obviously know Father-well that's why I met you all those years ago..."

Kyoko was in shock. Her pulse raced erratically as Tsuruga-san - no - _Kuon_ \- told his tale. Not only was her Corn _not_ a fairy prince, but he was Father's true son! Oh, how Tsuruga-san must have laughed at her trying to portray a young Kuon! She struggled to listen to his words, but her pain and his betrayal were overwhelming. She felt the burn of tears, but she blinked them rapidly back and re-focused on Tsuruga-san. It was completely staggering to watch his confession coming from her mouth, with her voice. It made it even harder to believe that this wasn't some dream that her overactive imagination had cooked up. But surreptitiously pinching her-his?-arm revealed that nope-this was as real life as it gets.

"So why aren't you with Father, Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko asked finally. Her voice was the low timbre that was almost to Cain-nii san's register and husky with her pain.

Ren winced at that question and ran an impatient hand through his hair. "Because I killed my best friend." He ground out harshly.

 _That_ stopped Kyoko in mid-pity-party wallowing. Her face paled even more and she locked onto Ren's golden gaze. "You did what?" She questioned incredulously.

Mistaking her disbelief for admonishment, Ren dropped his gaze down to the table. "I killed him. His name was Rick. He was more than my best friend, he was like an older brother to me..."

Kyoko didn't know how much more shock her heart could take. She listened raptly to his story of Rick and Tina, and of Rick's untimely demise. Her heart ached for the despondent man in front of her. That he was stuck in her body right now was no matter. She could tell how deeply this tragic event had scarred him. It had to be responsible for the darkness that stirred within his eyes every once in a while. Suddenly, his car accident and Cain nii-san's behavior made complete sense. No wonder the President wanted Setsu to accompany her big brother and help him out. If he had been carrying around this level of guilt and self-loathing for this long, he would need someone to pull him out of the shadows.

When Ren had finished, he fell silent and allowed Kyoko to absorb all that he had said. He had nothing more to give, her Corn Prince, Hizuri Kuon, Rick's death, Tina's hate, the creation of Tsuruga Ren, all of it. She knew of his complete past, everything that had happened from the time he left her in Kyoto when he was ten and she was six to now. And considering she was currently inhabiting all 6 foot 3 inches of his lanky frame, he didn't even have any bodily secrets to hide from her. The only thing he hadn't told her yet was his feelings for her, but he needed to see how she handled all of this first before he broached that subject. The choice was all hers, he felt lighter now that the burden of secrets was lifted from him. He was also buoyed by the hope that she hadn't bolted from his apartment yet.

Kyoko's mind was frantically attempting to process all of the information that Tsuruga-san...no...Hizuri-san had thrown her way. She was a riot of emotions that refused to settle on just one feeling for long. She was hurt at his omissions, angry at his deceptions, happy that Corn was a real person...wait...she had kissed Corn in Guam...she had kissed _Tsuruga-san_?! _EHHH_?! Did that mean? But Tsuruga-san liked another girl? Was he just in character as Corn? And what was this business of him killing Rick?

"You didn't kill him." Kyoko sputtered out, her brain getting caught on that salient fact.

"Huh?" Ren whipped his head up at the sound of her-his?-voice after such a long silence.

"Rick. Your friend. You didn't kill him." She said with more conviction. She rose from her seat and came around the table to kneel next to Ren's chair. She grabbed onto his hand-it felt so _weird_ to have hands bigger than Tsuruga-san's. Never-the-less she soldiered on, "What happened to Rick was a horrible accident. You had no control over the car that hit him. Yes, you were the one to run into traffic, but you did _not_ kill Rick. The driver of the car did." She said firmly.

Ren looked into the calm face of well, himself. Kyoko's compassion shone through, but Ren had been mired in misery too long for just a simple sentence to set him free. "But Tina...what she said..." He broke off in despair and looked away.

Kyoko gripped his smaller hand tighter, "Tina was obviously distraught over the loss of Rick. She wasn't thinking clearly, and you were the closest outlet to vent her grief." She smiled at Ren, "Have you spoken to her since?"

Ren looked horrified, "Oh, no. I left for Japan shortly after the incident."

Kyoko placed a hand on his shoulder, "Maybe after this-" she released his hand and gestured between the both of them, "-is all done, you can give her a call and see how she is? I'm sure Father can find her contact info."

Ren felt comforted by Kyoko's words, but something was bothering him. "This moment would be more touching, if it didn't feel so weird to have 'me' looking at and holding me. And the feel of your larger hands is freaking me out, since we're being honest here." He muttered.

Kyoko rocked back on her-his?-heels and looked at him, astonished. "Yes, of course." she laughed a little nervously. "This is all rather embarrassing, isn't it, Tsuruga-san?" She blinked then added hastily, "What _do_ I call you now?"

"Well, since Hizuri Kuon hasn't been in the public eye for 6 years now, we'll continue with Tsuruga Ren. Especially since you're currently in my body and will have to answer to that name. As to when we're in private, Ren will work nicely, or Kuon. That's up to you." He paused then continued, "In turn, may I call you Kyoko? I think with present circumstances - going by surnames seems a tad redundant, don't you think?"

Kyoko felt a blush grace her cheeks, "Okay, you can call me Kyoko, Ren-san." When he didn't respond, she looked up to see his folded arms and a superior eyebrow expertly arched and a stern look. She didn't know that her face could look so stoic and elitist. It was so unsettling to see her body and hear her voice, but the cadence and tone was _all_ Ren. "Ren." She said softly, dropping the honorific as the look on his face bade her to do.

Ren smiled and relaxed his posture, "That's better."

Kyoko returned his smile briefly, but sobered soon after. Her mind was still a mess from all of his revelations, but this whole body swapping situation took priority. So using the box that she had locked her heart in, she stuffed all of her conflicting thoughts concerning Kuon, Corn, Rick & Tina into it to be dealt with when she was back in her own body.

"So what now?" She asked.

Ren thought for a bit, "We'll go back to LME and ask Lory. I have the sneaky feeling that he's to blame for this."

So as 'Ren', Kyoko called the President and ascertained that Lory would be available in his office. She said nothing of their predicament, just secured the appointment time. Ren, meanwhile, was calling another taxi since Kyoko didn't have a driver's license. Once confirmed, he hung up and walked to the closet. He opened the door and stared in dismay at the upper shelf where his caps were stored. He had gotten used to how Kyoko's shorter body moved, but this situation gave him a harsh reminder that he wasn't 6'3" anymore. "Kyoko-can you get us a couple of caps?" It was galling that he had to ask.

Kyoko looked up as she had just hung up with President Takarada. She smiled as she walked over and easily grabbed two ball caps. "Here." She smirked and offered a hat to Ren.

He looked up and saw that she was trying to keep a serious face, but mirth danced in her eyes, "You're enjoying this a little too much, I think." He said seriously, but soon was fighting a grin of his own.

Kyoko giggled a little bit (and didn't _that_ sound all sorts of wrong coming out of 'Ren's' mouth?) "You have to admit, this is a really crazy situation."

Ren laughed and tugged on his cap, "Yes, it is. However, it's about to get crazier. Once we step out of that door; you are -for all intents and purposes- Tsuruga Ren, my beloved senpai. And I will be Kyoko, your lowly kouhai." As he had said this line, he allowed his knowledge of Kyoko's personality to overtake him and sink into character.

Watching Ren get into character never failed to impress Kyoko. He had her voice infection and cadence down pat. Even her stance with perfect posture. So she, in turn, began to do the same. Knowledge of Ren's characteristics, the façade that she now knew as Tsuruga Ren began to saturate her own personality. Her expression sobered, then adjusted to a polite smile. She turned and glided to the door and opened it, "Ladies first, Mogami-san. We don't want to be late for our appointment, do we?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

 **Wow, after typing on Affliction last week, Role Reversal seems almost slapstick and superficial. And if there are those of you who are worried that Kyoko is turning into a laissez faire Pollyanna with how blithely she's taking all these bombshells, well, she'll deal with it soon enough. I'm sure we've all had periods in our life where fate just keeps dealing blow after blow, and you're forced to take it, keep going, and later on after the shit's died down…THEN you're allowed to have your breakdown. Lord knows I've been through it. And no doubt will go through the cycle again as life goes on.**

 **So pedantic rambling aside, I give you the next chapter of Role Reversal.**

 **Ciao**

 **~SW**

* * *

The duo climbed out of the cab with Ren paying the fare. Together they walked tall through the busy lobby towards the bank of elevators in the back. They each nodded to people that called out to the pair, but they didn't stop to talk. The couple approached the elevators and Kyoko reached forward to press the call button and settled in to wait.

"Funny, you don't _look_ very sick, Ren." Yashiro sidled up to the taller man. "Good morning, Kyoko-chan!" He leaned around Ren to greet the young woman.

"Good morning, Yashiro-san!" She replied back cheerfully.

Yashiro chuckled and leaned back to glance up at the tall actor, "So not even Kyoko-chan could keep you home in bed, huh Ren?" He asked slyly.

Kyoko kept Ren's face impassive, even though she wanted to blush at the purely suggestive tone that Yashiro employed to deliver his line. She merely gave one of Ren's slight shrugs and replied, "When the President calls, you answer." She glanced down at Ren and added, "Since he wanted to see both of us, it was a good thing that we were already together, right Mogami-san?" She smiled down at Ren, who managed to pull off a wide-eyed Kyoko smile and nod-complete with slight blush across his cheeks.

Yashiro looked back and forth between the two, sensing that something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Yeah, that was a good thing. He must have called me shortly after you, so I guess we'll all find out why." The elevator dinged its arrival and the trio climbed on to ride in silence to the top floor.

Once inside Lory's office, Kyoko-still acting as Ren- paced over to stand near the window and wordlessly stared out said glass. Ren folded himself demurely into the same chair that Kyoko had occupied last night, and Yashiro claimed the remaining perch.

Lory himself sat behind his desk and looked at the three people in front of him. "Well Ren, you're the one that requested this meeting, you mind telling us what's up?"

Yashiro looked quickly between Lory and Ren in confusion, "Ren, you requested this? But just a few minutes ago you told me that Lory called you? And what about your excuse of being sick?" The bespectacled man was bewildered.

"I'm not sick, per se." The tall actor said at the window. He'd turned to face the group, but leveled an unreadable look towards the girl in the chair, who sighed heavily and spoke.

"I just find myself in a different body." The 'girl' added.

"HUH?!" Lory was completely flummoxed, while Yashiro was looking frantically between the two talents.

'Kyoko' stood up, "Mogami-san and I have appeared to have swapped bodies sometime in the night."

" _EHHH_?"Yashiro exclaimed.

"Preposterous!" Lory blustered, "You two have cooked this act up to get revenge on me for that horrible script exercise last night!" He folded his arms and quirked an eyebrow at the pair.

"I assure you, Boss. We are not making this up." 'Kyoko' stood upright, cocked her hip and placed a hand on said hip and met Lory's gaze evenly.

The response made Lory take a closer look at the two, then focusing on Ren still by the window, he added, "You can drop the act now, son. You guys are good. Kyoko has your tone and cadence down pat. You must have worked hard on this." He said with burgeoning admiration at the skit. However he was shocked even further when 'Ren' blushed slightly, looked down at the floor and fiddled with his hands.

"He's right, President Takarada. We _have_ switched bodies. I'm Kyoko." 'Ren' added in a small voice.

Lory barked out a laugh at Ren's convincing portrayal of Kyoko. "You guys are great! This is truly awesome work!" He chuckled loudly even though both actors looked uncomfortably at each other.

Meanwhile, Yashiro had been watching the entire exchange with narrowed eyes. Brows furrowed, he absently pushed his glasses farther up his nose and peered nonchalantly at his watch. "Hmm…10:45am. Kyoko-chan, didn't you tell Ren yesterday that you had an exam at 9:30 this morning?" He had no sooner finished his last word when 'Ren's' eyes went wide and his face lost all color.

"AWWW CRAP! I GOTTA GO!" 'He' spun on his heel and dashed for the door-

"STOP!" Yashiro barked out the command, freezing the tall actor as 'he' grasped the doorknob. "Kyoko, come back here. I believe you now. There's no way Ren could act that spastic without a cue."

Lory, now believing the situation after that display, looked wonderingly between the two actors. They both stood in front of his desk with 'Kyoko' looking up at 'Ren' in concern. "You okay, Kyoko?" 'She' asked.

Yashiro squeaked in an excited whisper, "Ooh! No honorific!"

'Ren' looked down at 'Kyoko' with a pretty blush on 'his' face. "Yes, Tsu-I mean Ren, I'm fine."

The true Ren turned back to face the President and arched an eyebrow, "Are you convinced now, Boss?"

Lory was absolutely gob smacked. "But, how did this happen?!" His gaze was still swiveling between the two. Yashiro had dug out his planner and was furiously scribbling all the while muttering incoherently to himself.

"That's what we were going to ask you." Ren asked bluntly. Lory didn't let the outer appearance fool him any longer. This statement-and the hidden implication of violence it carried-was _all_ Kuon.

Takarada recoiled slightly, "You think _I_ did this?" He was aghast, "How or when would I have accomplished that?!"

Ren raked a hand through his hair and paced in front of Lory's desk, "I don't know! All I know that I did differently yesterday was read that script!"

"The script!" Lory exclaimed and shot up from his chair to make his way towards the wall safe.

Yashiro had pulled his nose out of his planner to watch the older man walk off before fixing a bewildered look on Ren, "What script?"

Kyoko stepped in to explain before Ren could rant about it, "It was an acting exercise between two people that Tsu-Ren and I read for the President last night. He wanted to see if it was any good before implementing it into the Acting School's curriculum."

"And it was absolutely, horribly written!" Ren added petulantly.

Yashiro was just watching the strange scene of a petulant Kyoko and a wide eyed Ren. He kept shaking his head at the absurdity of it all as he turned back to the messy planner in front of him. It was sloppy due to all of his scribbles and rescheduling of Ren's life.

Ren didn't know that, however, when he scowled over at his manager, "Just what are you up to, Yukihito?"

Yashiro didn't even look up at the use of his first name, merely continued to study the book as if he were involved in an important chess match, "Hmm… I would think it obvious. I'm merely rescheduling your appearances and auditions. I believe that I'm correct in guessing that the President will want this matter kept under wraps?"

"You would guess correctly, Yashiro-san." Lory had returned to the desk with the packet. "Now, in case another body swap occurs, we won't read the dialogue. I just want to look at the packaging." He stated inanely as he carefully removed the two booklets and tipped the envelope upside down over his desk. "Huh." Lory muttered as nothing fell out. He put the envelope down and reached for one of the scripts. He quickly flipped the pages between his fingers, but there was nothing there either. Brows furrowed now in dismay, he let go of the first script and grabbed the second one. "Well, last chance for any sort of clue..." Lory muttered to himself as he began to flip through the last script. There! Taped to the second of the last page, was a single sheet folded once. Gently he peeled it out of the book and began to read it aloud.

 _"Hello Stranger,_

 _If you are reading this, then you-or someone you know- has succumbed to the Script's Curse. I know not where this foul script came from; but I, too, was a victim of its schemes..."_

"Over-dramatic actor with such flowery prose," Ren grumbled under his breath. He snuck a glance at Kyoko and a long-suffering sigh escaped him. The very image of Tsuruga Ren with wide, starry eyes and hands clasped under his chin as 'he' listened raptly to the melodramatic letter was enough to scare anyone. Ren met Yashiro's eyes and both men shook their head in dismay and tuned back into Lory's recitation.

 _"This dialogue will switch two souls from their Earthly vessels in an attempt to gain higher understanding of the Universe outside of one's self. This period of enlightenment can last anywhere from one hour up to a fortnight."_

"Well, that's specific..." Ren muttered.

Lory ignored Ren's comment and continued reading,

 _"And if by chance the fortnight passes and the two have not achieved a new level of enlightenment, then they shall remain victims of the curse forevermore."_

 _"_ Wait, what?" Ren asked incredulously.

"I can't remain in Tsuruga-san's body!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"Now, now, you two. Just calm down. The letter doesn't say anything more than that." Lory flipped the paper over to check the back for good measure.

Ren leaned over the desk, "Let me see that." He snatched the missive from Lory's hand and read through it himself.

Kyoko, however, had frozen. Stuck in Tsu- _Ren's_ body forever?! It was inconceivable! She liked being a girl! Earlier this morning was embarrassing enough as it was! After she had talked to Ren on the phone, she had had to teach herself how to...pee...like a guy! It had taken her 10 minutes to work up the nerve to pull down the boxers and touch...it. But she had to pee so badly that there was no other choice for her! She had stood before the toilet, remembering to put the seat up from the evil memory of Shotaro leaving the seat up constantly, and there she froze. Her face was redder than a tomato as she stared down at the waistband of Ren's boxers. She knew that guys peed standing up, and looking at the distance between...it...and the toilet, it only stood to reason that a guy had to hold...it... to direct the stream and not make a mess. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she had immediately thought of her portrayal of Kuon. Kuon wouldn't think twice about using the restroom! She'd let herself get caught up in the boy's character and suddenly she was taking care of business! The relief was overwhelming! She finished up, washed her hands and had let Kuon's character recede.

Pulling herself from that embarrassing memory, she was thankful that she'd figured the bathroom situation out _before_ Ren had arrived! She didn't think she would have been able to live if he had walked in on her doing _that._ Oh, she was still horribly mortified that she'd had to...grasp Tsuruga-san's genitals. But she was just heeding the call of nature, anyone else would do the same. Anyone...oh Gods! That meant that _Ren_ had had to relieve himself in her body! That meant he'd seen her naked! She whimpered involuntarily, and all three pair of eyes swiveled in her direction.

"Kyoko-chan?" Lory queried. "Are you all right?"

' _I'm no longer a pure Japanese maiden!'_ She thought to herself, ignoring the President. ' _I'm tainted beyond all salvation! No one will want me! I'm going to be stuck in Ren's body forever and I'll have to learn how to shave, and deal with jock itch, and get prostate exams?!'_ She mentally railed at herself. Her thoughts were frantically looping themselves in her head as outwardly her appearance remained frozen.

Ren watched as Kyoko lost all color in her face and beads of sweat formed on her brow, and her impossibly wide eyes stared sightlessly into the distance. Cautiously, he placed a hand on her arm, "Kyoko. Are you all right?"

The touch seemed to snap her out of her thoughts, but suddenly she shouted out, "I DON'T WANT A PROSTATE EXAM!" She wailed.

All three men stared, disbelieving, at Kyoko and her outburst. Yashiro quickly clapped a hand over his mouth to hid his guffaw, Lory smothered his with a discreet cough, and Ren audibly groaned.

"I'm so glad you're rescheduling my appearances, Yashiro." Ren groused, then turned to Kyoko, "How are you on appearances and jobs? We can surely reschedule the next two weeks for us, right? People go on holidays all the time." Ren asked, trying to change the subject of prostate exams and to redirect the girl's attention.

Kyoko was ashamed and felt the hot burn of humiliation in her cheeks. She immediately fell down into a complete dogeza and felt the words spill from her lips, "I'm sorry, Ren! I promise I will hide myself away so that I don't damage your popularity! At least you're in my body and no one knows who I am!" She wailed.

Ren instantaneously felt like a jackass. "Kyoko, there's nothing you could do to hurt my popularity. I'm not ashamed of you and I don't want you to hide yourself away. Quite the contrary, I'm very proud of you and your accomplishments." He had crouched down and gently pulled on her arm to get her forehead up off of the floor, then he helped her to stand fully once more.

Kyoko's dark gaze locked with Ren's earnest stare. She wanted to believe his words, but deep down knew that they couldn't be true. Why would Ren be proud of a body snatching no one like her? "That may be..." she said doubtfully, "but I will still seclude myself until this passes. I honestly do _not_ want to be responsible for causing a scandal in your body."

"I don't think that's an option, Kyoko-chan." Lory's baritone voice broke through the silence. Both actors looked over to their employer.

"What do you mean, President?" Kyoko's voice was hesitant.

"Well, according to this letter, the two swapped souls have to 'gain higher understanding of the universe outside of one's own self'. If you sequester yourself in Ren's apartment, how will you achieve that enlightenment? No, Kyoko-chan, if you follow your plan, you'll never get back to your body."

"Then what do we do, Boss?" Ren asked curtly.

Lory looked over to Yashiro, "What modelling jobs does Ren have in the next couple of weeks?"

Yashiro looked down at the scribbled ruin that was his planner, "He has the autumn clothing line shoot for RMandy later this week. Other than that there are a few interviews on local TV and next week he has a couple read throughs for two dramas that he'd accepted. Why?"

"Hmm..." Lory stroked his mustache in thought. "Sebastian?" He had no sooner finished the name before the man himself materialized in front of the group. "Would you please be a dear and fetch Kotonami-san?"

The silent man nodded once and disappeared. Kyoko was further confused, "Moko-san, President? What does she have to do with all of this?" Inwardly, she was happy that she was going to get to see her best friend, but still didn't know what Takarada was up to.

"Kyoko-chan, what work do you have going on in the next couple of weeks?"

Kyoko blinked, apparently the President wasn't going to answer her question. "Uh...I don't have too much going on right now. School, a couple days I have some light work on Box R, and of course Bo with Yappa Kimegure Rock at TBM... _EHHH_?!" She clapped a hand over her mouth and looked wildly in Ren's direction, hoping he hadn't heard. But the damage had been done. Her blood ran cold at the sight before her.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well here is Chapter 5. I'm quickly catching up on what I have rough drafted in pencil and paper... so I'll need to get cracking on that. But I couldn't wait longer to get this next installment up! Hope ya like!**

 **Ciao!**

 **~SW**

* * *

 _"Kyoko-chan, what work do you have going on in the next couple of weeks?"_

 _Kyoko blinked, apparently the President wasn't going to answer her question. "Uh...I don't have too much going on right now. School, a couple days I have some light work on Box R, and of course Bo with Yappa Kimegure Rock at TBM...EHHH?!" She clapped a hand over her mouth and looked wildly in Ren's direction, hoping he hadn't heard. But the damage had been done. Her blood ran cold at the sight before her._

* * *

The sight of her body-her face- shedding the _obscene_ level of sparkles and radiating demonic aura from Tsuruga-san's "Genuinely-Pissed-Off-Gentlemanly-Smile" froze Kyoko in her tracks.

"Bo? From Bridge Rock? That rooster mascot?" Ren said so smoothly, so quietly, that Kyoko felt her pulse throb in her throat and tasted the brackish tang of fear in the back of her mouth.

"Um...yes?" She confirmed faintly, absently wiping the sweat from her brow.

A laser-sharp golden gaze pinned Kyoko to her spot right in front of Lory's desk. "And when were you going to tell me that you've been Bo this whole time?" She couldn't look away from Ren. Placed as he was in her body, it was like looking at Natsu...crossed with the Devil. "She" stood as Natsu, like a model waiting to take her stroll on the catwalk, but those golden eyes were filled with fury and righteous indignation.

"Ano...I was going to tell you...sometime." Kyoko answered in a small voice. Inwardly, she was filled with shame at her deceptive actions, however a kernel of anger began to sprout in her chest. Sure, she'd lied, or rather omitted, about being Bo; but he'd hid far more important things from her! Such as being Kyoko's Fairy Prince! Her anger helped bolster her mood and she steeled her own dark gaze, folded her arms in front of her chest and quirked an eyebrow in silent challenge back at Ren.

Ren must have gotten the hidden message in her stare, because his eyes widened fractionally and he flicked his gaze to Lory and Yashiro who were both watching avidly. She watched him loosen his stance and huff out a breath as he closed his eyes momentarily. He slowly opened his eyes and met hers with a calm expression, "You're right. We'll talk about this later when we get home."

Kyoko ignored Yashiro's fan girlish squeak and nodded to Ren, "Okay. We _both_ have a lot of explaining to do." She watched as Ren smiled serenely at her and nod.

The sound of the office door opening caught the quartet's attention. Kanae's confident tone addressed her employer, "President Takarada?" as she moved into the room.

Kyoko didn't remember moving, just flew instinctively towards her best friend with a loud and drawn out "MOOOOKOOOO-SANN!" And she went to glomp her friend, however she'd forgotten whose body she was in, so it it was a complete surprise when she completely engulfed her friend in her larger frame.

Kanae had gone stock still. Tsu...Tsuruga-san was _glomping_ her? What the hell?! Her eyes were impossibly wide in shock as she was frantically trying to process the situation. Why was Tsuruga-san glomping her? In front of Kyoko no less! Kanae narrowed her eyes as anger took a hold of her and she brought her arms up to shove the tall actor roughly away from her.

"MO! Get off of me! The woman you love is standing right over there, pervert!" Kanae fired hotly at the now shocked Ren who was standing a couple steps from Kanae with his jaw hanging.

The long haired actress immediately regretted her sudden outburst. His feelings were not her secret to share, "Tsuruga-san, I'm sorry for blurting that out, but anyone with two eyes can see that you're absolutely smitten with that girl." Kanae pointed to an equally shocked Kyoko, "Well...except for the girl in question." Kanae added ruefully at Kyoko's wide-eyed look.

She was further confused when Lory and Yashiro both looked at each other for a split second and then burst out in raucous laughter. Kyoko ran a very impatient hand through her hair and muttered, "It seems that I really don't have _any_ secrets left," to herself. And Tsuruga-san...still hadn't moved a muscle. He was frozen, slack-jawed, a few paces from Kanae. She looked at the tall actor and began to get angry all over again. "Well! Say something already! Surely Japan's top actor can recover from a minor shock better than this?!" She cocked a hand on her hip and glared at the man. She watched as the man blinked a few times to shake himself out of his stupor and focus on her. Kanae lost her confident pose at the expression in those brown eyes. Unknowingly, she had taken a half step back in apprehension.

"You said he l-l-loves me, Moko-san?" He huskily stuttered.

Kanae blinked in confusion, "He?! What the hell, Tsuruga-san? You're gay now?"

Her confused utterance made the two older men laugh even harder and Kyoko groaned almost as if she were in pain. Kanae was looking at the whole group as if they had lost their damn minds when Kyoko answered Kanae's question.

"I most certainly am _not_ gay, Kotonami-san. I can assure you of that. Also, your previous statement is very much true. I _do_ love Kyoko." Thus silencing the two men behind.

Now it was Kanae's turn to stare owlishly at the other 'girl', "Kyoko, what the hell are you talking about? What is going on here?"

'Kyoko' sighed and ran a hand impatiently through her hair again. It was a gesture that Kanae had never seen the girl do before today. The raven haired actress narrowed her eyes and looked back and forth between the other two actors. Something was severely different. Kyoko wasn't acting like herself and Tsuruga-san was acting strangely hesitant. Belatedly, Kanae realized what the man had called her. She turned to the tall actor, "Why did you call me Moko-san?"

'Tsuruga-san' looked at the floor and mumbled pitifully, "It's what I've always called you."

Kanae's head seemed to be on a constant swivel as it went from Kyoko to Tsuruga-san back and forth. She watched as 'Kyoko' walked up to 'Tsuruga-san' and to Kanae's shock, reached up to cup his cheek.

"It seems to be quite the day for revelations, ne, Kyoko?"

Kanae's jaw dropped open when Tsuruga-san's eyes filled with tears as he peered down at Kyoko. "It is, and I don't know how much I can take."

The auburn haired girl smiled gently up at Tsuruga-san. "I know this is hard, and we have a lot to talk about, but we'll get through this together. I promise you that."

Kanae was speechless. The two in front of her paid no attention to their surroundings or the people in the room watching them. She looked over to the desk and saw the President and Glasses-kun both now crying from the sap overload. Hell, Yashiro even passed Lory a tissue? Kanae clenched her jaw and looked back at the two actors closest to her. "MO!" She shouted, "Someone had better start explaining quick, or I'm outta here!"

"Kototnami-san, please have a seat. I fear explaining this situation may take a while." President Takarada gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk as he discreetly disposed of the tissue. Warily, she walked to it and sat down, watching the quartet that still stood around her.

The President cleared his throat, "Kyoko-chan, have the other seat, you've been standing this entire time."

Even though by this point, Kanae had deduced what was going on, it was still a shock to see 'Tsuruga-san' respond to Kyoko's name. He-she?- walked over to the 2nd chair while casting a hopeful glance in Kanae's direction. The long haired actress shook her head in bemusement as she looked at the tall man now seated next to her. "Kyoko?" When Kanae saw the nod and sparkle in those brown eyes, she turned back to their employer and demanded, "How did this happen?"

Lory leaned back in his chair, rested his elbows on the arms, steepled his fingers together and rested his chin on them. "I had unknowingly purchased a cursed script that I had thought would make a good exercise. So I wanted these two," he gestured to Ren and Kyoko, "to try it out first. So they read it last night here in the office and woke up this morning in the other's body.

"Sounds surreal, doesn't it, Kotonami-san?" Ren in Kyoko's body responded solemnly.

"It does, Tsuruga-san." Kanae replied, but turned back to the President. "Despite the extraordinary events that caused these two to body swap, why am I here?"

Lory regarded her over his steepled fingers, "Well, these two have a fortnight to, and I quote, 'gain higher understanding outside of one's self.' So it's clear that they can't just go into hiding until the time is up. If they do that, they'll be stuck in each other's bodies forever. So we need two people to help the two of them get through this. Yashiro will help Kyoko portray Ren. She'll be doing his modeling jobs, all of his auditions, interviews and guest appearances will be rescheduled.

"And what of me, Sir?" Kanae asked stiffly. She had an idea on where this was going.

Lory pinned her with a direct glare, "You will be helping Ren go through Kyoko's daily duties. School, mundane LoveMe jobs around the agency and he'll also reprise the role of Bo on Bridge Rock."

Kanae watched as Kyoko...or rather Ren... Ryoko? She mentally chuckled at the new name for her rival. Yes, she watched as Ryoko sputter indignantly at Lory's decision.

"You heard me, Ren. You'll not spoil this girl's chances of gainful employment." Lory's voice was velvet wrapped steel and he flicked his dark gaze to Yashiro, "Furthermore, you'll book 'Ren' for more modeling jobs. Kyoko should be able to handle the photo shoots. Ren taught her how to walk as Natsu, so this should work out perfectly."

All three actors were now standing in front of Lory's desk and arguing incoherently with their addled Boss.

"I can't model for Ren!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"Yes, you can." Lory responded calmly.

"I'm not getting stuck with Tsuruga-san for two weeks!" Kanae yelled.

"Someone's gotta help him." Lory assured her.

"I have to go to school?!" Ren groused.

"Uniform and all my dear boy...err...rather girl." Lory chuckled.

The only one not involved in this byplay watched with silent amusement. Yashiro then snuck a glance over to Sebastian standing by the door. Judging by the twinkle in his eye, Yashiro amended the thought. He wasn't the _only_ one amused by the scene in front of them.

After several more moments of arguing, even the unflappable President was beginning to get annoyed. "ENOUGH!" he clapped his hands, causing all to fall silent. "If we want to get Ren and Kyoko-chan back to their right bodies, we're going to have to put them in learning situations! Now you two," he gestured to Ren and Kyoko, "just think of this time as researching for a new role! However rather than coming up with a new character, you're portraying one you're very familiar with. Both of you have a huge obligation to each other right now." Lory pinned Kyoko with a look, "Kyoko-chan. How would you feel if you did something out of Ren's character that hurt his reputation?"

Kyoko felt her face pale and eyes widen, "I'd feel horrible! The most worthless kouhai ever! I would resign! I would prostrate myself in shame! I-"

Lory held up a hand forestalling her outbursts, "I think we get it." He smiled warmly to calm the girl-turned-guy and looked to Ren. "And you, how would you feel if you somehow damaged Kyoko-chan's image?"

Ren stood straighter and leveled a determined look at Lory, "I don't need to speculate, because I won't tarnish Kyoko's reputation."

Lory nodded, "As I thought. So you see, you two have a duty to each other to see this debacle through to the end. Yashiro-san and Kotonami-san are here to help you. There are going to be things that happen that only a person of the opposite sex can answer for you." He saw the two actors look warily at the other, then focus back on Lory. The older man hid his grin behind an air of scholarliness, "Such as a lifetime of habit. Ren, say if you were to need the restroom, which one would you walk into?"

He watched Ren as he opened his mouth to reply, then his eyes widened in realization. "The women's restroom." He muttered lowly, with a slight blush across his cheeks.

Lory grinned triumphantly, "Exactly! You got it right this time because you were thinking about it. Now, if you were busy at work and needed to go-you'd instinctively choose the men's room. Can you think of the fallout of Kyoko-chan walking in to the men's rooms?" The President watched as both actors paled at the thought. "Now you understand my point. Yashiro-san and Kotonami-san will serve as your guardians, if you will. They'll stick close during the day to ensure that no gender faux pas happen in the public. After your assignments are done for the day, then you two may go home to Ren's apartment and relax. However, while at work, _you must not break character._ Understand?"

"I got it." Ren answered curtly.

"Understood, President Takarada." Kyoko answered formally.

Lory nodded in acceptance. "Now Ren, there is one exception to this. While you're at school, Kotonami-san won't be with you. She doesn't attend classes. So you will have to remind yourself of the situation that you're in. I trust you'll be able to handle it?"

"Not a problem." He answered seriously.

"Excellent!" Lory beamed a smile in their direction. "Well now that it's all settled, let's break for lunch and then move on to the rest of our day. You guys are dismissed! Go have fun!"

The quartet just shook their heads and moved to the door. Just as Yashiro opened it, Lory's voice stopped them once more. They turned to see Sebastian standing next to the President. "Before you go, Sebastian here has volunteered to be your driver for the duration. He raised a valid point that the fewer people who know about this situation, the better it will be kept quiet."

They all looked at each other before Ren nodded back at the President, "A fair suggestion. Thank you, Sebastian."

The silent assistant nodded once and Lory made shooing motions with his hands, "Okay, okay! Enough talking! Go and get something to eat!"


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: Long time no update! I have not forgotten about you guys at all! Just have had a hellacious start to 2017. And I can't even spare the energy to try and explain it all to you guys. Suffice it to say, it's been a rough road from March till about now. So here's hoping the second half of 2017 mellows the hell out._**

 ** _This chapter is a little short, but I hope you guys like it. I'll keep writing if y'all keep reading!_**

 ** _Cheers,_**

 ** _~SW_**

 ** _REPOST: I KNEW I FORGOT TO CHECK CHIORI's SURNAME SPELLING! FIXED! YAY!_**

 ** _Previously, on Role Reversal:_**

 _They all looked at each other before Ren nodded back at the President, "A fair suggestion. Thank you, Sebastian."_

 _The silent assistant nodded once and Lory made shooing motions with his hands, "Okay, okay! Enough talking! Go and get something to eat!"_

* * *

After leaving Lory's office, the quartet decided to send Yashiro to the cafeteria to grab four bentos and head back to the LoveMe locker room to rejoin the others. It was the safest place other than Lory's office to have an open conversation and to form some sort of a game plan.

After the manager left, the trio of actors were silent as they made their way to the locker room. Thankfully, they didn't run into anyone needing their attention. All three were lost in their own thoughts. Upon reaching the door, Kanae opened it, checked inside, and then ushered the two in.

Kyoko looked around, 'It seems that Amamiya-san isn't here today. That's good." She walked over to the couch and folded her long frame onto it, while Ren chose a seat at the table.

Kanae also took a seat at the table across from Ren and just kept looking at the pair, eyes glancing from one to the other in bemusement.

Ren ground his teeth, "Are you quite finished, Kotonami-san?"

Blinking at his irritated tone, with Kyoko's voice, Kanae soon found herself grinning. Then outright laughing, much to the shock of the two before her. "Oh my god, this is hilarious!" She chortled. The long haired girl wrapped her arms around her middle and another round of laughter seized her. She struggled for breath and control, "I…mean…I know…it's no…laughing matter…but…" she dissolved into a fresh round of laughter. Both actors looked aggravated at their hysterical friend.

"Moko-san," Kyoko chided gently.

This coming from Ren's voice made Kanae howl even louder. "Oh god! I…c-can't …breathe…" she struggled to get control in between fits of laughter. "Seriously," giggle, "I just…" chortle, "need…to…get this out of…" guffaw, "my system." She was now wiping the tears from her eyes while gasping as her laughter finally, slowly, subsided. "Whew!" she gulped, "Oh, my stomach hurts now."

"Are you finished _now_ , Kotonami-san?" Ren's tone was frosty.

Kanae composed herself, "I am." She had cleaned her face and smiled back at the stoic face of an unimpressed Ren in Kyoko's body, "Oh, don't give me that look, Ryoko. You're just lucky I waited until we got here before giving into that. I could have pitched that fit in front of the President."

"Ryoko?" The man-er-woman sputtered.

Kanae smiled viciously, "Yep, my new pet name for you when we're in private, Tsuruga. Get used to it."

Kyoko had been watching this and her eyebrows climbed even further when she heard Ren mutter an epitaph in…was that _Russian_? "It's not our fault that this happened, Moko-san. It's not fair to be so mean to Ren."

Kanae looked over to her, 'I'm not being mean, Kyoko. I know this isn't your guys' fault. But can you blame me for wanting to tease _the_ Tsuruga Ren just a little for landing in this predicament? Which reminds me. Ryoko," she turned back to Ren, "you should call me that asinine nickname that Kyoko has saddled me with when we're in public. People will think she's sick if they hear a 'Kotonami-san' come out of her mouth."

"I'll do my best." Ren replied sourly, still irked at the whole situation, and the asinine name that _he_ was now saddled with. But he wasn't about to give Kotonami-san the pleasure of knowing it bothered him.

Kanae nodded decisively then turned her attention to Kyoko, "And you" she stabbed a finger in Kyoko's direction, "No more glomping me instinctively! We don't need any rumors linking Tsuruga-san and myself." She shuddered at the thought, "It's enough that pretty much everyone knows that he's enthralled with you—we do NOT need to turn it into a love triangle."

Kyoko and Ren both nodded their agreement. In thought, Kyoko tapped her finger against her lips, "So by that reasoning, _Ren_ should be the one to glomp you."

Kanae's eyes widened, as did Ren's and they warily looked at each other, "I…hadn't thought about it…" she left off lamely.

Kyoko, looking proud that she'd contributed to the conversation, "Well, it _would_ be in my character, Moko-san. How many times do you have to dodge me?"

Bitterly, Kanae looked at Ryoko, "Every time she sees me. You'd better bring your spastic game, Tsuruga."

Ren just arched an eyebrow, "Considering the fact that we'll be together a lot of the time, I think the glomping can be held to a minimum."

Kanae noticed he made no mention of his 'spastic game'. She just smirked, poor Tsuruga-san had his work cut out for him; that was for sure.

They were saved from further discussion with Yashiro's arrival and delivery of the bentos. He passed each one out as the four of them sat down at the table. They all thanked him for the food and dug in. It was quiet at the table, all absorbed into the meal and their own thoughts. Kyoko, however, was confused. The bento in front of her was a simple single tier box made with typical ingredients. Normally she'd tuck into the food, but now she found herself picking at the tamagoyaki and salmon with her chopsticks. Mentally, she reminded herself that it was lunchtime. She needed to eat to keep Ren's body healthy, but apparently her-or rather Ren's- body wasn't listening. Brows furrowed, she stared at her meal until a quiet voice spoke up.

"Not hungry?" Ren asked knowingly.

Kyoko looked up to meet his slightly smug gaze. She was completely bewildered. "I should be. It's lunchtime. We haven't had anything since breakfast."

Ren chuckled softly, "Suddenly all of my protests at food make sense to you. Your spirit may inhabit my body, but it's still _my_ body. And it doesn't require much to subsist on." His face sobered as he pondered the almost finished bento in front of him, "Your body, on the other hand, feels like it could eat a horse and ask for seconds. You must have a helluva metabolism!"

Kyoko laughed, "I'm usually so busy running from class to work and everywhere in between that I've learned to eat when I can."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that is all well and good; but what do we do after this?" Kanae cut in.

"I'm afraid I'd have to agree, Ren." Yashiro nodded and set down his chopsticks, "I've already cleared your day, and I can only assume that President Takarada had Sawara-san clear Kyoko's. So what's our next move?"

Ren had given this some thought, "Well, first we need to go back to Darumaya and get clothes and personal effects for my portrayal of Kyoko. We can move it all over to my guest room. I'll sleep there while Kyoko takes my room."

Kyoko sputtered, "That's not necessary, Ren! I'll sleep in the guest room! I can't put you out any more than I already have!"

Ren just smiled and reached over for Kyoko's hand, "Hun, the spare bed is only a queen sized mattress. The bed I have in my room is a California King. It fits my body better and you'll rest easier there. We both need to make sure we're healthy and at the top of our game for the next couple of weeks. "

Kyoko knew that he was right, yet it felt weird and slightly embarrassing to know that she'd be sleeping in his bed. It was one thing to share his bed as Setsu, and have him there with her, but this time there was no character to hide behind. Of course, if she really thought about it, simply sleeping in his bed paled in comparison to the very real fact that she was _inside his body_. When compared against that fact, the thought of sleeping in his bed didn't seem nearly as awkward. Shaking her head slightly to clear her wandering thoughts, she tuned back into the conversation.

"Well then, since you two are going to Darumaya, then back to Ren's apartment, I don't think you'll need Kotonami-san or myself for the remainder of the day. I'm fairly certain that you guys can handle the act in front of Kyoko's landlords?" Yashiro asked, looking between the two actors.

"It shouldn't be too difficult. We won't be there that long." Ren answered.

"Perfect. I'll use this time to contact RMANDY and some of the other modeling agencies to line up work for Kyoko for the next week or so. Kotonami-san, perhaps you should do the same to keep Ren busy? See if there are any backlogged LoveMe tasks waiting? If there aren't many, perhaps Ren should then focus on catching Kyoko up with her school work. I know the curriculum and class schedules are lenient to aspiring actors, but it wouldn't do for Kyoko to fall behind."

"That sounds like a good idea," Kanae agreed, "Glasses-kun, you're more than welcome to stay here in the locker room while you make your calls. I'll check the task binder and organize some work for Ryoko. I've some free time this afternoon as well, so it would be more efficient to collaborate together."

Yashiro nodded, yet a name confused him, "Ryoko?" he looked from Kanae to the now blushing Ren.

Kanae grinned evilly, "My new nickname for the transformed Tsuruga-san. Looks like Kyoko, but is Ren on the inside: Ryoko."

Yashiro barked out a laugh and looked at where Kyoko sat, "Well by that reasoning, Kyoko looks like Ren on the outside, but is all Mogami on the inside. Her name should be…Ken?" Yashiro slid a glance over at Kanae and saw her wide-eyed look at the realization and they both burst into laughter.

"Oh gods, not this again." Ren muttered, causing the long haired actress to laugh even harder.

"I don't wanna be named Ken." Kyoko whimpered, causing Yashiro to lose it all over again as he heard the plaintive note coming from Ren's voice.

Angrily, Ren suddenly shot to his feet and hauled Kyoko onto hers, "C'mon, I'll call Sebastian so he can come pick us up. We'll leave these two chuckleheads to their scheduling duties." Ren's voice was scathing in his ire. He stalked over to the wall and punched Sebastian's pager code into the phone and hung up to wait for the man's call back. He turned his back to the wall and leaned back and folded his arms across his chest, momentarily distracted by the feel of soft flesh of his, no, Kyoko's boobs. Hastily, he dropped his arm to instead bury his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. He cleared his mind and focused back on his manager and Kyoko's friend. "I trust that when we're out in public, you two will maintain your decorum and not call us those idiotic names?" He looked from one to the other, "I don't think I have to remind you that our reputations depend on you two."

Yashiro sobered at once, "Relax, Ren. Kotonami-san and I are completely aware of the situation. We would never knowingly tarnish your reputations. And while we are in mixed company we will do our best to help you guys in any way we can. That being said, there's no reason to be so hostile about all of this. If you can't at least see a little humor in the situation, it will make for a long and difficult two weeks."

At the older man's words, Ren huffed out a breath and relaxed his stance, "You're right, Yukihito. I apologize for my attitude. It's been kind of a stressful day." He grinned ruefully at everyone.

Yashiro nodded sagely, "Oh, that's okay. I think due to present circumstances, we can forgive you for being _bitchy_." He grinned evilly as Ren now glared back at him.

Kanae erupted into fresh peals of laughter and even Kyoko started to giggle uncontrollably at the comment. Ren sliced his gaze over to Kyoko, "Et tu, Kyoko?" He affected a betrayed air.

"I'm sorry, Ren. That _was_ really funny." She giggled again, tried to look ashamed, but failed and laughed again.

Hearing Kyoko's mirth, Ren couldn't maintain a straight face any longer, "That was pretty damn funny…" he admitted grudgingly. He grinned at the older man, "Nice timing, Yuki."

Yashiro just shrugged, "I have my moments."

Just then the phone next to Ren rang, "That'll be Sebastian." He picked it up and confirmed the transportation. After hanging up he turned to Kyoko. "Ready to go? Sebastian will meet us in the parking garage." At her nod, he turned back to Yashiro and Kanae, "Well, starting tomorrow we'll be in your capable hands. Please take care of us." He bowed in their direction with Kyoko following suit.

While Kanae softly grumbled, "Great, he's so polite that I _have_ to be nice to him now…" Yashiro merely smiled kindly at his two friends, "Don't worry, guys. We'll get everything back to normal in no time."

"What passes for normal in Kyoko's world, at any rate," Kanae joked good-naturedly.

Kyoko turned to Ren with a polite smile on her face, "Well then, Mogami-san, shall we get going? We wouldn't want to keep Sebastian waiting." She held out her arm.

Ren grinned up at Kyoko, "Of course, Tsuruga-san." He gently threaded his arm through hers.

As 'Ren' gracefully escorted 'Kyoko' out of the room, Kanae and Yashiro watched them leave. When the door closed behind the pair, it was quiet for but a moment until Kanae murmured, "That's so _creepy_."

Yashiro simply removed his glasses to clean them, "Agreed, Kotonami-san. Agreed."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I apologize greatly for the long absence! But, I have still been writing, so I have a couple chapters with my Beta, Miss AiramLove! Thank you, nice Lady, for putting up with my random shenanigans! Much love!**

 **To the rest of all my readers, thank you yet again, for keeping with my stories. I know I need to post more frequently, and believe me, it's something I'm trying to work on. Life is a hectic, chaotic mess, and we all get swept up in its maelstrom occasionally.**

 **But enough of the sentiment. On to the story! It's short, but more material will follow!**

* * *

On the way to Darumaya, Ren interrogated Kyoko on her behavior and routine when she was at home. How she addressed her landlords, where her items were kept, even the layout of the house aside from the small parts Ren had already seen. He asked her if there was anything that she wanted. Once he promised that he would collect Princess Rosa along with the rest of her things; he grilled her a few minutes more on anything else she could think of that would be relevant to their act.

When Sebastien finally parked in front of the restaurant, 'Kyoko' confidently walked into the building with a proper greeting towards Taisho and Okami-san. She succinctly explained that President Takarada had assigned Tsuruga-san and herself to an executive project that required they stay at a remote location for a couple weeks. The older adults looked dubious, but said nothing, so Kyoko turned towards her taller counterpart. With a playful glint in her eye, she addressed the actor, "Please, Tsuruga-san, have a seat. I'll be down in a moment." With that 'she' disappeared quickly up the stairs.

Ever the hostess, Okami-san chimed in, "Yes, Tsuruga-san, please sit at this table. Would you like some tea?"

Gratefully, the real Kyoko folded herself onto a chair while smiling Ren's 'polite' smile, "If it's no trouble, Okami-san, I would love some." Kyoko was amused when Taisho's wife blushed a pretty shade of pink. Okami-san laughed self-consciously and backed away, assuring the 'young man' that tea would be coming right up.

Kyoko used this quiet time to look around the restaurant. It was early afternoon and the supper rush had yet to hit. With the tumultuous day she'd had, it was nice to just be still and calm. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reveling in the familiar scents of her Tokyo home.

The abrupt sound of someone clearing their throat caused her to open her eyes and look at the figure looming over her. A stern-faced Taisho stared down at 'Tsuruga Ren' with crossed arms and a belligerent air. Kyoko hid her initial panic and maintained Ren's calm façade, "May I help you, Taisho-san?" She ventured neutrally.

The owner's stoic face and crossed arms didn't change as he silently scrutinized the younger man's face for a moment. "This _work_ project you're working on with Kyoko-chan. How long is it supposed to last again?" he asked gruffly.

Internally, Kyoko was severely confused. Taisho had never shown such an interest in the details of her work before. And why did he stress the word _work_? "I believe President Takarada had scheduled this particular project to last around two weeks." She responded levelly, yet fervently prayed that it would be less!

"And she _has_ to stay with you?" Taisho's voice was cold and flat.

Finally, Kyoko had a slight glimmer of understanding. The Taisho was an old-fashioned man. His sense of propriety must be affronted for a single woman to stay with a famous bachelor! "I assure you, Sir," she maintained eye contact with the older male, "that Mogami-san will have her own separate quarters and that nothing untoward will happen to your tenant. She'll return here after the project's finished none the worse for wear." Kyoko replied evenly, trying to put the man's honor at ease.

"She'd better." Taisho growled. He leaned down next to 'Ren's' ear and whispered savagely, "That girl is like a daughter to me. If you harm so much as a hair on her head, the police will never find all the pieces that _used_ to be you." Kyoko's eyes widened at the statement and she paled. Taisho huffed out a satisfied laugh at the reaction and added in that sinister whisper, "I'm _very_ good with knives, you see…" and just like that he straightened and vanished back into the kitchen, whistling. Kyoko was left a stunned wreck at the table.

The Okami bustled in just then with a pot of tea and three cups on a tray. She busied herself with pouring and tittered bashfully as she grasped a filled cup. She looked up to present it to 'Ren' only to see the shocked visage of the actor. "Oh dear, Tsuruga-san," she hastily put the tea back on the table in front of Kyoko and came around the table to stand at 'Ren's' side. "Are you all right?"

Kyoko struggled to shake herself out of the stupor. She couldn't break character this early in the game! She schooled her features once more into a neutral expression, "I'm fine, Okami-san. I appreciate your concern."

"Tsuruga-san! What's wrong?" The question came from Ren as he stood in the doorway looking at the pale face of Kyoko.

Kyoko looked up to see Ren staring right back at her, "I'm perfectly fine, Mogami-san. Nothing to trouble yourself with." She pasted on a vacuous smile and furiously thought about why Taisho would say those things to Tsuruga-san?

"No. Something is the matter." 'Kyoko' responded firmly. She walked over to the table and plunked a duffel bag on top of it, then reached over to feel 'Ren's' forehead. "Hmm…you're pale, but not running a fever."

Hastily, Kyoko shoved Ren's hand away, "It's nothing. I'm fine." She smiled at Ren in the hopes that he'd relent.

It was clear that he wasn't convinced, "Hmm…be that as it may, I'll still make sure you get a good meal tonight. We don't want you getting sick." Ren grinned and turned back to the Okami, who had been watching the display with wide eyes and blushing cheeks.

"Well, I'm all packed, Okami-san!" Ren added brightly, "I'd better get Tsuruga-san settled before he decides to push himself and work more." Ren levelled a stern look in Kyoko's direction before throwing a playful wink in the Okami's direction.

Kyoko took that as her cue and stood up from the table. "Thank you, Okami-san, for the tea. Even though I couldn't enjoy it, the thought was appreciated just the same." Kyoko bowed slightly to the now flustered woman.

"Oh, come now, Tsuruga-san, it was no trouble. I know! When the project is completed, you could have a spot of tea with me…er…us, when you bring Kyoko-chan home!" Okami now looked almost shy as she looked up into Kyoko's face.

Was she…was Okami-san _batting_ her eyelashes? Kyoko was thoroughly confused by the whole encounter. Nevertheless, she maintained Ren's character, "I'd like that, Okami-san. It's the least I could do." She added with a smile and turned to look at Ren who was struggling not to laugh. Kyoko glared at Ren, trying to convey the unsaid message of 'let's get the hell out of here' with her eyes.

Amused, Ren couldn't stop the un-ladylike and un-Kyokolike snort from escaping. He struggled to keep a straight face and covered the sound up by clearing his throat. Once he had composed himself, he addressed 'Tsuruga-san', "Well, I suppose Sebastien is waiting outside," he hefted the duffel bag onto his shoulder and moved to the door. Kyoko stepped up in Tsuruga fashion and held the door open for the smaller 'actress'.

Once out in the car, Kyoko collapsed against the seat in relief. What a weird situation! Were all their encounters going to be so strenuous? She never expected that the Taisho and Okami-san were going to be so difficult. What would happen when they were at work? And what was with the Taisho anyway? She didn't know what to think as she absently scrubbed a hand over her face in exasperation.

Ren was amused by the sight of her. She'd unconsciously sprawled exactly like a guy would have across the bench seat of the sedan. Her legs were splayed akimbo as she scoured her face in thought. Just what she was concerned about, he intended to find out. "So…what did Taisho say to you?" he asked smugly and grinned when his astute guess brought her gaze sharply up to his and her face lost all color.

"Wh-why would you think he said anything to me?" She stammered.

Ren grinned wider and he settled back into his seat, "Because the few times I've come into the restaurant to pick you up or drop you off, the man has always given me the evil eye." Ren nodded to himself as he extrapolated on his hypothesis. "The fact that Okami-san left you alone for several minutes to make tea confirms the fact the man had ample opportunity to speak to you." He looked up into Kyoko's eyes again, "So what did he say?" He watched Kyoko blanch once more and figured it wasn't pleasant. Ren didn't blame the guy for being protective of Kyoko. She was a treasure, no doubt about it.

"Oh, it was nothing really," Kyoko backpedaled.

"Kyoko. Enough. We promised honesty between us this morning, remember?" Ren's voice was stern.

Instantly, Kyoko went meek, "Well, it's just that Taisho is a very old-fashioned man. Honor is everything to him…" She wheedled.

"What were his exact words?" Ren was genuinely curious to hear what the older man had said. But more than that; he wanted to understand Kyoko's reaction to it all.

"Well, he asked about our living situation while on the project. He didn't seem to approve of the purpose of the project. That it was even for work." Kyoko truly looked confused at that, "I mean—it _is_ a work project. If we hadn't read those stupid scripts, we'd never be in this predicament in the first place. However, it doesn't explain Taisho's disbelief over its reason."

Ren knew exactly what the old guy was thinking it was—a flimsy excuse for Ren to secret Kyoko away to have his way with her. So, the old man was suspicious. He didn't explain any of this to Kyoko just yet. He wanted to hear what else was said. He merely nodded and prompted, "Go on, how did you answer him?"

Kyoko sat up a little straighter, "I assured him that we would have separate sleeping arrangements and that at the end of two weeks, Kyoko would return none the worse for wear. At least I hope so." Her response started out strong and confident. A pupil answering a teacher's question, but the last sentence was half muttered under her breath as she skewed her gaze askance towards the floor.

Ren was intrigued further. He shared her sentiment about everything going back to normal in two weeks, yet the way she inflected that last sentence caused him to furrow his brows in thought. "Was there something else that Taisho said that made you think you'd be harmed?" he hazarded a guess.

When Kyoko flicked her gaze up to meet his in surprise, then flit out the window, Ren knew he was right. "Kyoko, what else did he say?" he watched as her eyes took a faraway look and her jaw clenched slightly. She looked puzzled and upset at the same time.

"I understand Taisho's sense of propriety and honor. However, I don't understand why he said what he did." She drifted off, still staring out the window. It took everything Ren had not to say anything. He didn't want her to clam up now.

Finally, she turned back to face Ren directly, her eyes genuinely confused, "He said that, 'Kyoko was like a daughter to him and if I harmed one hair on her head, the police would never find all the pieces that used to be Tsuruga Ren. He went on to mention that he was very good with knives' and after that chilling thought he went back to the kitchen."

Ren was quiet for a moment out of respect to her confusion; but couldn't hold back the laughter that erupted out of him. He laughed harder when he saw her glaring at him, "I'm sorry," he composed himself after a few minutes, "Allow me to explain." He'd stopped laughing, but couldn't stop smirking, "Kyoko, he thinks of you as a daughter. Very much like my Dad does. He's trying to protect you from a man's affections. From _my_ affections. Of course, any doting parent would warn a guy from their child."

Kyoko was nonplussed, "How does Taisho know you have…affection for me? And Moko-san too? I think you're all making it up." She shook her head in denial.

Ren couldn't believe that after her best friend had called Ren out on his feelings in front of Kyoko, moreover Ren _confirmed_ those feelings in front of said girl, she _still_ didn't get it. Acutely aware they were sitting side by side on the back seat of Lory's Audi S8 sedan; Ren didn't allow the strangeness in body types to deter him. He looked up at his face and addressed the girl within. "Kyoko," he said lowly, "Taisho knows of my _very_ real feelings for you because he's seen the way I look at you." Ren reached up and cupped her jaw and stared intently into her wide brown eyes.

"How you look at me, Ren?" Kyoko whispered.

"I look at you in amazement, Kyoko. I'm amazed when I look at you. Not just because you're beautiful, but because everything I've ever wanted is right in front of me."

Kyoko squeezed her eyes shut and wrenched her face out of Ren's warm embrace. Self-consciously, she wrapped her arms around herself and stared out the window. "You're wrong." She sounded strangled, voice thick with pain.

Ren resisted the flare of anger at her casual dismissal of his feelings. Teeth clenched, he looked up and saw that Sebastien had just pulled into the parking garage of his flat. Ren took a deep breath and regained his composure. If he were truly honest with himself, he could blame her reaction on himself. It was too soon to be making a move after so stressful of a day. But he couldn't help but feel frustrated after his true feelings were made plain by Kotonami-san and Kyoko didn't even acknowledge them! So switched bodies be damned, he was sick of waiting and holding back.

'And this is what happens when you push too far, too soon, Tsuruga.' He thought darkly to himself. He put aside self-recrimination and decided to give her some space for now. Straightening, he reached for the duffel bag that had a pathetically few pieces of clothing inside. "Well, looks like we're home." He said nonchalantly as Sebastien parked the car at the door.

"Huh? Oh. Okay." Kyoko climbed out of the open door that Sebastien wordlessly held. Ren clambered out after her, duffle firm in hand. He looked up at the silent driver, "Thank you for helping us with this, Sebastien."

Lory's Shadow looked down at the actor-turned-actress, "Not a problem. Besides, I think the next two weeks will be quite entertaining. I shall be here at 8am tomorrow to pick you two up." With that, he closed the rear door, climbed back into the driver's seat and pulled quietly away from the curb and out of the parking garage.

Kyoko looked down at a quiet Ren, who stared wordlessly after the car. "I think that's the most I've ever heard him say." She ventured softly.

Ren nodded in agreement before turning to the door, "C'mon, let's go upstairs."

Once in the flat, Kyoko begged off to go have a lie down since it was too early to start dinner. Ren carried the duffle bag of her clothes to the guest room and began to unpack her meager belongings. A couple of school uniforms, a few professional items of clothing that he could wear when he had to be around the agency. Her hot pink LoveMe jumpsuit was in her locker at LME. He was currently wearing her only pair of jeans and the rest of her street clothes showed significant wear.

Staring at the sparse collection of clothing, Ren started to get an idea. A horribly devious, but well meaning, idea. He rummaged in Kyoko's bag and fished out her cell phone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Another chapter up, in huge thanks to Airam Love! She helps keep me on task, and most importantly, enthused about the story. You all can thank her for running herd on me!**

 **Another short chapter, but I hope you'll like!**

* * *

Ren glanced up at the clock. It was about 3pm here in Tokyo so it had to be around 10pm in LA. He opened Kyoko's phone and located his father's number. He pushed Send, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Barely two rings sounded and an exuberant voice came through, "Well if it isn't my precious son! To what do I owe the honor of getting to hear from you?"

Ren's heart clenched at the words. He knew that Kuu thought it was Kyoko he was speaking to, but Ren couldn't help but feel wistful after years of not hearing those words.

"Well? Speak up, my boy! Are you in trouble? Do you need help?" Kuu's voice lost its warmth and concern laced its tone.

Ren snapped back to attention, "Ah, no! Father! I'm okay! I'm fine." He hastily assured the older man.

"Well then, speak up! I don't want to listen to my son breathe! What's new with you?" Kuu's voice relaxed and affection enriched the sound coming from the phone's speaker.

Ren was channeling his 'inner Kyoko' as much as he could. She never liked asking for help-or accepting what she considered charity. She was a proud thing, his girl. He smiled to himself, "Well, school is going well, work is the same, but..." He trailed off, knowing his father wouldn't be able to resist.

"...but, what?" Kuu's voice now was impatient and concerned, "Is there someone giving you trouble?"

Ren couldn't stop from grinning. This was going to be wayyyy too easy. "No! No,nothing like that. It's just...well..." he purposely trailed off again.

"Well, what?! Young lady, if you don't tell me what's bothering you right this instant, I'm gonna fly over there and force you to tell me!" Kuu's voice was frantic.

"It's just a new role I have to portray...it's not like anything I've ever done before." Ren 'confessed' and it was true, being a girl wasn't anything he's ever had to do.

"You're having trouble with a role? That's it?" Kuu sounded incredulous and Ren soon heard a long sigh, "You sure do know how to give your father a heart attack." He took another breath, "Okay then. A role I can help you with; please tell me about it and what your struggles are."

'Bingo,' Ren thought, 'he bought it.' Into the phone he recited, "Well, I'm to portray a young professional business woman that's new to the career world. But I come from meager roots and have trouble associating with the higher ups." Ren shrugged to himself, it was a good place to start and should steer his father in the right direction.

"Kyoko, dear, you _are_ a young professional woman. I don't see why you would have a problem with this role. Maybe the part about having trouble with the higher ups. You've transitioned into the corporate acting world quite seamlessly, and while you're respectful, you still have the guts to give anyone a piece of your mind, no matter their rank. It's one of the many things I love about you. You need to have more confidence in yourself and your abilities, my son."

Ren seized on that thought, "But that's just it. I don't have confidence in myself." He mumbled and thought that truer words had never been spoken regarding Kyoko.

"Nonsense! You're my son and you shouldn't doubt yourself. I don't allow just _anyone_ into my family!" Kuu paused, "I know! You should dress the part and the character should come to you. What is this young business woman supposed to wear?"

Ren grinned even wider on the phone in triumph before sobering once more to convey the emotion through the lines, "Well, nice pant suits, sensible shoes, button down shirts. She's trying to make a go of it in a man's world." Ren paused and thought once more that truer words had never been spoken, but shook his head and continued, "I would dress the part, but well...um...never mind." He dithered.

"What is it, dear? Surely you can tell your Father! I know I'm far away, but you can still come to me for anything!"

Ren smiled poignantly. Kuu may not know that he was talking to his real son, but Kuon was listening loud and clear. "I know," he whispered, slightly ashamed that he felt the prickling burn of oncoming tears.

"Well then, if you know that, why won't you tell me what's really troubling you?" Kuu's voice was firm, but considerate.

Ren hastily shoved his emotional overload off to the side and concentrated on finishing his mission. For Kyoko. "It's just that I'm new to the acting world. And well, I'm very thankful for all the jobs and roles I've gotten to play thus far. But well, the pay is adequate for me to live on. But fancy pant suits are a little on the expensive side, and so I'll just have to save for a while..."

"Ohhhhhh! I get it now, my son! Have no fear! Your father knows exactly what to do!" Ren heard Kuu move the phone and then a loud, "JULIE, MY LOVE! Come quick! Our son needs us!" in English. Ren soon heard the approach of his mother to the phone and he couldn't help the tightness in his chest when her dulcet tones came through the speaker.

"Are you young Kuon, or the real Kuon?" She asked curiously.

Ren wanted to answer 'real' but this call wasn't for him. It was for _his_ love. "The young Kuon, Hizuri-san." he answered formally in English. He knew that Julie's Japanese wasn't the greatest.

He heard his mother chuckle softly into the phone. And in the background, Kuu was demanding to know what was so funny, which made Julie giggle more, "So polite and formal. But tell me, Kyoko, is that any proper way to greet your mother?" her voice was stern, but carried a hint of amusement.

Ren blinked, "Ma'am?" he knew she'd love Kyoko, but that was a quick adoption of someone she hadn't met yet.

"Don't you 'Ma'am' me, young lady!" Julie admonished, "You call my husband "Father" and your father has told me all about you and furthermore that damn kidnapper has sent over every piece of work you've been in since joining LME. Even that variety show with the chicken. I can't stress enough how proud we are of you, and even though we've never met in person, I call you my daughter with love. Now what can I help you with?"

Ren couldn't talk. During his mother's speech, the love, pride, and admiration that she felt for someone she'd never met floored him. Knowing that his parents accepted and loved the girl he'd chosen meant more to him than ever he realized. And her fiercely affectionate tone took him right back to when he was a kid. This time he was not ashamed of the tears that now spilled freely down his cheeks.

Julie seemed to realize what the silence on the other line meant, "Oh honey, have I upset you?" Her voice went soft while Kuu's demands in the background became louder, "I'm sorry, Sweetie, I didn't mean to."

Ren took a shaky breath and collected himself. He felt a smile grow on his face and with a wavering voice spoke, "No, I'm all right. It's just been a long time since I've heard those words." Ren thought it was safe to say that Kyoko had probably _never_ heard such words of praise from a parent, but even if his Mother didn't know it, her Kuon was talking to her with his reply.

"Well," Julie replied briskly, "the little that Kuu could tell me about your family situation leads me to believe that you need to hear words like that more often. And I intend to do just that. Now, before I go any further off topic, what do you need?"

Once again, Ren reminded himself to stay in Kyoko's character. He personally knew that once his Mum got that tone, she was in problem solving mode and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. But Kyoko, being Kyoko, would demure until the cows came home-or in this case Julie flew over and kicked Kyoko's ass. "Well, I'm not sure...I don't want to be a bother..."

"Nonsense! You must be needing something, otherwise you wouldn't have called Kuu. And you are never a bother to us! So just spit it out already!" In the background Ren could faintly hear Kuu say something about 'stubborn', but Ren just decided to play his hand.

"I'm having trouble getting into the character of a young professional business woman. She's trying to make a go of it in a male dominated profession and she's gotta be confident and capable. Father said that if I dressed the part, the confidence and character would come to me. But I've just started working in show business and am working on a tight budget already." Ren took a breath and gave the final push, "Do you have some ideas on inexpensive ways to polish a wardrobe?" he grinned to himself when he heard her hum to herself.

"Are you at your home during this shoot?" she asked.

Ren was a little off guard with the question. "Um...no. I'm staying with Tsuruga-san."

Julie's reply was decidedly coy. "Oh, really?"

Ren would normally defend himself in a terse and curt reply; however, he was supposed to be in Kyoko's character...so obtuse it was. "Yeah, President Takarada has us working on a project for the next couple of weeks. This project is to help me with my character development. So, I'm staying in his guest room." he babbled convincingly.

"Tell me," Julie's voice was quiet, "what kind of man is he? I've heard so little about him personally. I just want to make sure you're in good hands."

Ren blinked in surprise. She was trying to fish for information about him? He'd thought he'd filled her in when he'd sent that video home. But he guessed it wasn't enough. "He's a really good man," he smiled gently and held the phone closer as if to hold his mother closer. Now, because of Kyoko, he had the opportunity to finally tell his mother what he'd needed to, "Whoever his parents are; they raised him right." His tone was reserved, yet playful. He wanted to string this along as far as he could.

"Is that so?" Julie's reply was droll.

"Yep! I mean, they had to have had their hands full, because Tsuruga-san may act the gentleman, but he's got quite a temper. Not that he's ever used it against me! He'd never hurt me! But he's very willful and can be petulant when he doesn't get his way. So, his parents must have had a hard time."

"You sound like you know him very well." She was amused.

Ren grinned, "Oh, I do! Tsuruga-san confides in me about a lot of things. He's a very generous senpai. He gives me rides to and from work, and in return I make sure he eats healthy. But that all kind of changed this morning." Ren dropped the bait. It was time to tell his mother everything, well, not the body swap, but he'd tell her first just to aggravate his overly-dramatic Dad.

"What happened this morning, Kyoko? Did he try anything funny?" Her voice was stern again, and Ren could hear his father threatening in the background.

Ren figured that here was where things got a little creative. And tricky. He wanted to stay as close to the truth as he could, "Well, I had to meet him over here at his place this morning. When I got here, he was still getting ready and I startled him as he was putting his contacts in." He left off when he heard the hitch in Julie's breath. She would know what that statement meant. Just to make sure she knew where he was going with this, he followed it up with, "Your son has beautiful green eyes, Mother. It's a shame that he has to hide them."

He heard her gasp on the other end of the phone and his father demanding she tell her what's wrong and trying to get the phone from her. But Julie wasn't giving it up. "Kyoko," she paused, and in a cracked voice asked, "he told you?"

Ren was smiling so wide he couldn't help it. "All of it, Mother. Even about his friend, Rick."

Julie was sobbing now, and Kuu was frantic in the background and threatening the purchase of plane tickets and ass kicking. After a few moments, Julie composed herself and asked, "And you, Kyoko? What do you think of all this?"

Ren thought back to when he told everything to her, "Um...well...I was okay with knowing he was Father's Kuon. I mean, the way Father spoke of him made it seem like he had died. So, I was glad that he didn't."

Julie gave a watery chuckle. "Go on."

Ren _hmmed_. "And the story about Rick was undoubtedly sad, but it wasn't Tsuru-I mean Ren-I mean Kuon's fault. It was a horrible accident." Or so he'd begun telling himself that morning.

Julie agreed. "But, I feel like there's something you're not telling me."

Here's where Ren winced. "Well, the part that upset me the most is finding out that Kuon was Corn-my fairy prince. And that he knew who I was long ago when I first started at LME. And he didn't tell me." Ren was remembering Kyoko's betrayed and wounded look that morning to channel the appropriate amount of hurt in his voice.

"Your Corn?" Julie was confused.

Ren sighed, "I don't think he ever told Father, but when he came with Kuu on a trip to Kyoto when Ren...I mean Kuon was 10 years old, he found me crying beside a stream outside of an inn on the city limits."

"Oh, Kyoko. You poor thing." Julie's voice was soft.

Ren grimaced, he never realized just how big of a role he had played in Kyoko's childhood. He thought he'd met a random friend to easily pass the days playing while his dad worked. That friendship grew into more, but when he left, he never thought he'd meet her again ten years later. But once he realized who she was, he also realized that she'd left her mark on him. All because of a little blue stone and sad amber eyes.

"Kyoko, are you there?" Julie asked.

Ren shook himself out of his musings. "Yes, Mom, I'm here. I was just thinking back to the day that Corn left. I was so sad and wouldn't stop crying. Corn didn't want to leave me like that. So, he gave me a blue stone. He told me he was a fairy prince and that the stone was magical. That it could absorb any and all sad thoughts I had. It was so beautiful as it glinted in the sunlight that I'd stopped crying once I held it in my hands. He told me he had to go back to his Father's kingdom, but he was going to learn to fly from beneath his Father's shadow." Ren paused. "I had first started at LME and I was going down some steps when I accidentally dropped Corn-the stone. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, there was Ren-I mean Kuon- holding Corn and looking at me curiously. It was then that _he_ realized who _I_ was, but _I_ only just found out about who _he_ was this morning." Once Ren had said that, he realized again just how much of an ass he was. That wasn't fair to Kyoko at all. But it was water under the bridge at this point and all he could do was hope that she forgave him when this whole topsy-turvy body swap was done.

"Kyoko. Oh, Darling, what a day you've had! I would be furious with Kuon for doing that to you!" Julie's anger was indignant. "That boy! If I could talk to him right now, I'd surely give him a piece of my mind!"

Ren flinched. She had no idea-and that was the only thing saving his eardrums right now. Speaking of yelling, "Um...Mother, why don't I hear Father in the background anymore?"

"Hmm? Oh, because he's crouching in his Corner of Woe and moping because he doesn't know what's going on. And no one cares enough to tell him. Or at least that's what he's mumbling to himself." Julie laughed and Ren could hear her pull the receiver away to raise her voice. "Relax, my love! I will tell you after I ring off with our daughter. I can tell you that everyone is alright and no one is dying. Will that appease you?"

Ren figured his Dad must have answered affirmatively because Julie's voice once more became brisk and business like. "Okay, Darling, back to the original issue. What size are you, exactly? I have a plan."

Ren grinned. Sometimes it was good to be the son of a model.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Long time, no post, I know. Summertime up here in the tundra is short and therefore BUSY! As my Uncle G would say, "I'm so busy, I don't know if I'm dragging a rope or lost a horse!" (A little cowboy humor for y'all) Anyway, The Homestead (my house) was struck with a massive hailstorm recently. Since I am my better half, Luke's, secretary; it's up to me to wrangle contractors, painters, roofers, etc. For the next month or so, I'll be busy with running herd on making sure everything gets done smoothly and most importantly - ON TIME. So please enjoy the next chapter and I'll hopefully post more in the near future.**

 ** **As always, I love reviews, thoughts, questions, concerns? I love to hear from you and I try to respond to each and every one of you! Thank you very much for reading and keeping with this crazy story. I appreciate it!****

 ** **Love from NoDak!****

 ** **~SW****

* * *

Inside Ren's room, Kyoko was pacing instead of lying down. Her mind raced furiously with Ren's blunt confession. Also, the fact that _Moko-san_ knew about his feelings when Kyoko had no clue? How had she never realized this? Had she been so wrapped up in her head and obsessed with thoughts of revenge that it had turned her completely oblivious?!

How the hell could Tsuruga Ren have feelings for a plain and boring girl such as herself? It was too surreal to even contemplate! She shook her head angrily in denial. There was no way! It had to be misplaced feelings of pity for her situation. Or perhaps they were just the affections a senpai feels for his kohai.

And didn't he tell Bo that he liked another girl? Where was she in all this? Kyoko knew that the mystery girl went to high school near the agency and was four years junior to Ren's age. Ren was a workaholic, so the girl had to be someone at or near LME or TBM for him to see her. Although, to be honest, she and Ren haven't been around either agency recently due to portraying the Cain siblings. So now Kyoko was curious as to when Ren met up with his special girl?

And furthermore, if he liked this special girl so much, why the hell was he saying stuff to Kyoko like he did in the car?! That's only something _that man_ would do. Lead a poor girl on while trying to charm the pants off another. The nerve of that…that…playboy! Tsuruga-san was better than that! He was an honest sort, always being polite and a gentleman. Except for having green eyes instead of brown. Or blonde hair instead of brown. Or having a different name than Tsuruga Ren. Kyoko stopped her furious pacing to glare sightlessly out the balcony door. Come to think of it, Tsuruga-san was damn deceitful himself. Pretty much everything he'd ever told her was a lie! Jaw clenched tight against the familiar tickle and burn of tears in her eyes. Why?! Unconsciously, she wrapped her arms around herself and tucked her chin to her chest. So, did that mean it was _all_ a lie?! Was he just playing with her after all? If so, he was no better than Shotaro! And she was an even _bigger_ fool. Because she fell for that damn, useless emotion once again! Would she ever learn?! How many times did she need to get hurt? She tightened her arms around herself and felt the scalding tears spill over onto her cheeks. She grinned humorlessly to herself; she only had herself to blame though. After all of Shotaro's hurtful actions, she had locked her heart away. She should've kept it that way. But no, she wanted to help Tsuruga-san. She wanted to be a good kohai. So, the more time she spent around him, the more she saw through to the real man. Or so she'd thought. She'd witnessed a lonely, stubborn, yet impossibly kind and supportive person. Especially to an unknown beginner such as herself.

But was all that a lie as well? Kyoko's jaw ached from the continuous strain and her eyes glared sightlessly out the balcony. What could she really believe? The man was a superb actor. There was no way to tell if his sincerity was genuine or contrived. The friendly little blonde-haired boy that she'd met in the meadow as a child may have been gone for years now. After all, when he'd recognized Corn the stone in the stairway a year or two ago; why didn't he tell her right away? Why keep her in the dark? To laugh at her? Maybe he didn't want her to know? Then to top it all off, he tells her _everything_ in one fell swoop?! She could barely process it all even now. He was Hizuri Kuon. Son of Hizuri Kuu. Kuon. Corn. Her Corn. That she'd kissed in Guam. _And what the hell was with that whole situation?!_ Another way to toy with her? To find out how gullible she was? His feeble explanations on using Tsuruga's form and voice, how the hell did she buy that pack of lies? Maybe she'd simply been that happy to see Corn again? Violently, she shook her head. No, she'd simply been that obtuse and stupid.

And he was the asshole who'd enjoyed her obliviousness. Did Yashiro know? Oh gods, she felt sick to her stomach at the thought. Did those two laugh about it like Shotaro did with Shoko? She felt lightheaded and swayed back half a step. She could see it in her mind, the two boys laughing at the expense of the poor little dense girl that didn't know any better. The plain little hopeless girl that believed in fairies and princesses. The dumb girl that let not just one, but _two_ men, walk all over her and she'd brought it on herself! She'd asked for it!

Snarling silently to herself, she fumed as she resumed pacing. Her agitation built as she meticulously went over every interaction Ren and she'd ever had. While it was true they didn't like each other at the beginning of her employment at LME, she'd thought they'd moved past that to become friends. But if that wasn't the case, then she was staring at smoke and mirrors; the illusion of a friendship. And the joke was on her.

Swirling her dark, malevolent aura around the room, Kyoko seethed in silence. Ren should have told her who he was when he realized who _she_ was. That's all there was to it. He had no right or excuse to withhold that from her. She knew that she wasn't a prize, but damnit, aside from Shotaro, Corn had been her only other childhood friend. Why didn't he tell her? Her righteous anger cracked and gave way to the roiling sea of pain. So, she resumed pacing and reviewing more interactions, examining Ren's responses in the vain attempt to gauge his intent.

* * *

Smiling, Ren hung up the phone. That was done, so now all he had to do was wait for his mother to deliver. He glanced at the time and figured that Kyoko had slept long enough. Knowing his body, he figured she probably wouldn't sleep tonight. He padded out the door and across the hall to tap lightly on his bedroom door.

Hearing nothing, he silently opened the door and peered into the darkened room. "Kyoko?" he saw movement by the balcony, but was suddenly grabbed and forcefully yanked into the room. The door slammed shut and he was shoved up against it. Surprised, he looked up and was met with a teary-eyed, furious Kyoko.

"Why didn't you tell me?! Was all this a lie?! A joke for you and Yashiro to laugh about?!" She shouted in his face. Abruptly, she released him and spun away to resume her pacing by the balcony door.

Ren was utterly speechless, what on earth was she talking about?! Damnit, he shouldn't have left her alone with her thoughts. Belatedly, he looked around the room and realized that it was dark with her murderous aura. The late-afternoon/early evening sunlight was trying to penetrate the swirling mass of her evil grudges, but to no avail. Dismissing that, he re-focused on Kyoko, who stalked back and forth, her long frame quivering with rage and pain. Ren knew he had to tread carefully. One wrong move could send her bolting out the door and in her present state, the repercussions could be disastrous. Not only for their reputations, but for his shot at earning her trust in the _hopes_ that there might be a relationship. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he didn't tell her. He took a deep breath and let it out, "You're right. I should have told you when I realized who you were."

Kyoko stopped in her tracks and pierced him with a turbulent stare. Her chin lifted defiantly, "Why?" she ground out in a strained voice. Her tears ran down Ren's chiseled cheekbones, eyes red-rimmed and haunted.

Ren sighed and raked a hand through his hair, but made no move to approach her. "Isn't _that_ the $64,000 question?" at her blank stare, he hurried on from the failed game show reference, "I can't pinpoint an exact reason, but if I had to guess right this second; I was primarily scared."

Bitterly, Kyoko sneered, "The Great Tsuruga-san, scared?!" She folded her arms and kept her bloodshot gaze trained on him. Clearly, she was expecting more of an explanation.

"Look, you know that you and I didn't exactly see eye-to-eye when you first started. I thought you were a frivolous and insipid girl just trying to make her boyfriend jealous so he'd take you back." At Kyoko's brilliant glare of rage, Ren hastily continued, "But then I got to know you! I realized you were genuinely trying to become an actor. Hell, your raw talent made me speechless at times, and it still does. I concluded that you weren't just out for revenge, and I began to respect your tenacity and admire your characters. When that stone came bouncing down the stairs to land at my feet, I admit, I was shocked. I never forgot about that stone, or the little black-haired girl with sad amber eyes. So, imagine my surprise when I hear your voice, look up and see you peering over the railing. The sad, black-haired little girl had suddenly become a fiery chestnut. I was stunned; you came bounding down the stairs so worried about that stone. And the look on your face as you held it once I'd given it back; well it was the same look as all those years ago. That look of wonder and awe as you peered into its depths. In an instant I was 10 years old again and you were in pigtails. I realized the kind of man I'd become and knew that I couldn't tell you who I was. You'd be so disappointed that I wasn't a fairy prince, or even a good guy. So, I kept quiet; kept you at arm's length. Or tried to, anyway. You kept popping back into my life and that Mogami tenacity wore me down." He paused and looked at Kyoko.

She stood at the foot of his bed with her back to the balcony. She still had her arms folded, but the line of her shoulders had loosened and anger no longer dominated her expression. Bewilderment and hurt had taken anger's place. Ren slowly approached her and gently placed a hand on her-his?-bicep. He looked up into her stormy eyes, "I meant every word I said in the car, Kyoko. You're everything I've ever wanted and the one thing I couldn't allow myself to have." He slowly ran his hand down her arm before brushing past her to stare out the balcony door.

From behind him, Ren heard a timid, "what do you mean 'couldn't have'?" he kept his gaze out the window, but saw in the reflection that Kyoko had turned and was now behind him right at his back. Ren could feel the heat of his taller form behind him and had the stray thought that the swapped bodies were almost normal to him now. He shook his head promptly to clear that absurd notion out of his mind and focused on Kyoko's question.

"When Rick died, I took his watch and I wear it every day to remind myself of what I did and who I am. That's someone who doesn't deserve to love and be loved. Yet, I made a hypocrite of myself because, despite that reminder, I still fell in love with you." Ren explained calmly. The more times he said it; the easier it was. He kept his eyes gazing out the balcony door and fell silent. It was up to Kyoko now on how she wanted to respond.

Kyoko remained mute as she pondered his words. All their interactions were still fresh in her mind, and now without the fog of anger and betrayal clouding them, she could view them in a different light. Tsu-Ren-had always went out of his way to help her. Either with rides – or meals—or acting advice. He constantly worried for her safety. His anger was righteous in his defense of her against Shotaro and his treatment of Kyoko. His generous presents at the Happy Grateful Party, his consistent presence, his ability to ground her wildly emotional mood swings. Nii-san. Cain. His doting protectiveness. His strong arms gently wrapping around her when she knew they were capable of so much destruction.

Abruptly, his sincerity was proven to her. It had been there all along. Her eyes widened as all the memories played themselves out to her in her mind's eye. Why hadn't she seen it all as it happened? Moko-san was right. He had been _blatantly_ obvious in his pursuit of her to anyone with eyes and half a brain. No wonder President Takarada had the reaction he did when she confessed her feelings to him in his office.

She closed her eyes in self-recrimination. No wonder people thought her a special brand of stupid. Here was Japan's #1 Male practically _throwing_ himself at her and she blithely went along her days in oblivious peace. Gods for dumb.

Ren was already so conflicted about Rick's death and felt like he couldn't be happy. And along comes a girl that catches his fancy, and she pays no heed to his attentions. He even confessed it to a chicken, yes, she understood now that _she_ was the girl Ren had talked to Bo about. There was simply no other who fit the parameters of the description he told the rooster. So yes, he confessed to a mascot, yet not the girl. Because he was afraid of rejection, and felt unworthy. It all made complete sense now. She opened her eyes to connect with Ren's gaze in the reflection of the glass door.

"You're doing it again." She said simply, voice devoid of all emotion.

Ren's golden gaze widened in question, "Doing what?" he asked cautiously.

"Punishing yourself for an accident that's not your fault." Kyoko responded. "I didn't know your friend, Rick, but do you think for one second that he would want you to go through life completely alone and unhappy?"

Ren opened his mouth to give his usual, canned, reply; yet stopped and thought about it. He reminisced about Rick and their adventures together. The good times they'd had with Tina, and the laughs shared by all. Rick had saved Kuon from going down a long, dark road. Would Rick have wanted Kuon to pay for Rick's sacrifice by being unhappy?

He could almost picture Rick's scolding face right then. No. The older man would be pissed at Kuon if Rick saw him now. A smirk ghosted across Ren's mouth, if Rick were here, he'd be all but shoving Kuon towards Kyoko with a heartfelt, "Go get 'em, Tiger!" whispered in Kuon's ear. The answer was clearly, "No," Ren said, "Rick wouldn't want me to live like that. Alone." He turned to face Kyoko, and once again, stared up into his own face as it looked down on him. "So, what are you saying, Kyoko?"

It was her turn to avert her gaze and focus on something safe. The city's nightscape had never received so much attention from her before. She took a breath and tried to organize her thoughts. It was a lot like herding cats, she didn't know where to start. She figured she'd simply blurt out the first thing and let it flow as it would from there.

"Today has truly been a day of revelations. Your real identity, my role as Bo the Rooster, Rick's accident, and the re-appearance of my Fairy Prince, Corn. All of that I handled in stride. Up until Moko-san's outburst and your declaration in the car. Suddenly, I felt exposed, vulnerable and convinced that it was happening all over again." She paused and swallowed around the lump in her throat.

"It?" Ren asked softly.

"The very thing that brought me to LME in the first place…and unknowingly back to you. I fell prey to that damn useless emotion and the guy walks all over me because of it." She ground out.

Ren froze, as hope suddenly unfurled within him. Was she saying… "What emotion?" he inquired.

"Love" Kyoko spat, voice harsh, "I mean, the whole thing is preposterous. You saying you love me?! I'm a plain and worthless nothing! Why would you even say something like that, much less mean it?! When we got back here, I paced in this room and fumed. There was no way you were serious! I figured you were just like Shotaro, joking about my idiocy with Yashiro like he'd done with Shoko. After all, you're…YOU" she gestured to Ren's rangy physique, "and I'm just—"

"Stop. Right. There." Ren's voice was steel. Kyoko had never heard her voice sound so authoritative. It startled her into looking at where Ren stood, arms crossed and amber eyes furious. She fell silent and even backed up a step in the face of such overwhelming fury. Her heart beat fast and Kyoko regretted ever opening her mouth.

"You are not to compare me to that fucking idiot _ever_ again, do you understand?" Ren's voice was implacable. He took a breath and continued, "The fact that you actually had the idea that I would treat you that way is downright insulting. Furthermore, that Yashiro and I would consider you as our version of an inside joke is _completely_ hurtful. The realization that _Shotaro_ ," Ren sneered the name, "and his manager did that you absolutely devastates me. But the knowledge that you still think so little of yourself pains me like none of the other shit can." Ren softened his stance, voice and approached a wary Kyoko.

"We've been through a lot, you and I. But even as you tell me to not be held back by Rick's death, you'd still suffer under Fuwa's constant verbal castigation that no doubt loops in your head. It does, doesn't it?" Kuon's temper spiked at Kyoko's small nod and her downcast gaze. He regained control, took a deep breath, reached up and placed a hand under her chin to bring her gaze up and met it with his own confident stare.

"After the time you've spent with all of us at LME, have you _ever_ seen any of us treat another like he did you?" Mutely, Kyoko shook her head.

"Has anyone at LME or any of your projects ever berated your work, intelligence, or appearance? Or were they happy with the outcome of the project?"

"They were all happy and told me I did a good job, but I'm sure they were just being nice—"

"Stop." Ren's voice cut in, silencing Kyoko again. He wasn't going to quit until she realized her true worth. "Those producers, directors, and other staff all have heaps of time and money invested into every project. They do not simply call out 'good job' to be nice. They are genuinely congratulating you on a job well done. That's all _you_ , Kyoko. Every project you've been on has been a success and that is due in part to your legitimate talent and beautiful figure." Ren saw her open her mouth to protest, so he glared at her to close it again.

"The things that Fuwa, and in some part your mother, said were meant to keep you down and in their control. Fuwa couldn't find his ass out of a paper bag by himself, so he needed you to take care of him; or so I'm assuming. You never have really told me the whole sordid story, but in no way, are you plain, boring, useless or whatever words that asshole has called you. If you want me to let Rick's death go, you need to get rid of that Inner Fuwa voice that holds you back. Do you think you can do that?" He smiled at her.

Shyly, Kyoko nodded, "I can try," she murmured.

Ren grinned even wider, "That's my girl." Suddenly, his stomach gave a loud growl that surprised them both. They each looked down at Ren's stomach, then matched gazes again, "I guess we'd better go get something to eat. Your body is pretty hungry." He chuckled and held out a hand for Kyoko. When she grasped his hand, he towed her out of the flat, prattling on in true Kyoko form about the groceries they needed to get, and asking 'Ren's' advice.


End file.
